


And I Waited Until Spring

by Felicity_The_Cat



Series: Until Spring [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Abandonment, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Psychopaths In Love, Romance, Serial Killers, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 47,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22330738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felicity_The_Cat/pseuds/Felicity_The_Cat
Summary: It had been so long; much too long since she’d seen him. Vanny knew that he wasn’t dead, though. William could never die. He wouldn’t be so cruel as to leave her all alone. She quickly comes to assume the worst, fearing that something horrible has happened to her precious partner. Unfortunately, she also becomes a suspected criminal by the community. Truths are bent and lies are born. It doesn't take long before Vanny becomes the black sheep of Hurricane.  Even the kids rattle on about her. “Have you heard what that creepy woman outside of town did?” They’d ask, then proceed to tell the lies their parents fed to them. If only they knew that she wasn’t a lover killer… William had made her prefer victims their age.Despite William's sudden and unexplained dissapearance, Vanny doesn't give up looking for him. It didn't matter how long it took. She was going to find William.
Relationships: Springtrap/Reluctant Follower (Five Nights at Freddy's), William Afton | Dave Miller/Reluctant Follower
Series: Until Spring [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666687
Comments: 39
Kudos: 97





	1. Sitting In The Wicker Chair

**Author's Note:**

> Things to note.
> 
> -This is an AU. It's a mixture of the books and the game's canon  
> -Vanny and William are roughly the same age  
> -There was no game; Glitchtrap doesn't exist  
> -Vanny and William are just two (twisted) humans.

_ It had been so long; much too long since she’d seen him. She knew that he wasn’t dead, though. William could never die. He wouldn’t be so cruel as to leave her all alone. _

At first, she had suspected that he had run off without her; leaving her in Hurricane without another soul she could consider a friend. 

* * *

After a few days went by and Vanny hadn’t heard  _ anything _ from Will, she came to assume the worst. What if Clay finally caught up with them and managed to catch William? The thought alone was enough to send her into a panicked state she had never known. Her head was light and her feet felt heavy for what seemed like hours as she sobbed and vomited on the cold bathroom floor. When she had managed to pull herself together enough to put on her brave face and shove her nose into things, nothing about William came up. There were no arrest records and no signs that the cops even suspected that he was still crawling around this little town he called home.  _ Only Dave lived here. _

Vanny’s mind returned to the possibility of him running off on the fourth morning after he’d vanished but the more she thought about it the less it made sense. William’s wallet was still in the house along with all of his belongings. Not a thing had been taken or touched. He had left in the silence of the night just like he had so many times before, only this time he didn’t seem to be crawling back. Vanny stood in the kitchen, silent as a corpse as she clutched a lukewarm coffee mug in her hands. She had no real interest in drinking the liquid; it was just routine. William was the one who made the coffee in the mornings and she was more than happy to grab a mug and share the dawn’s relative peace next to Will. A knock at the door made the woman jolt and lose her grip on the mug. The white porcelain shattered all over the floor and the coffee splattered over the cabinets and her legs.

“Will?” Came her hopeful, croaky voice as she turned and rushed towards the door, leaving the mess behind without a care. Vanny ran to the front door and hurriedly unlocked it, then yanked it open. The face that greeted her wasn’t the one she wanted to see in the slightest.

It was a cop. Vanny nearly had a heart attack right then and there. The man in front of her wasn’t the chief, though. Vanny cringed and swallowed down her urge to vomit as the smell of cigarette smoke and strong cologne hit her nose. The blonde man gave her a suspicious look over, examining the coffee that was splattered across her feet and lower legs.

“You drop your coffee, Miss?” was the first question of many to come.

Vanny stared in bewilderment at the man for a long moment; it was apparently long enough to cause the man to become uncomfortable judging by the look on his face. Seeing anyone other than William at the door wasn’t what she had expected. She should be nuzzled against William’s chest right now in a tight hug, not answering to this lowlife sleaze bag.

“Yes…” Was all that Vanny managed to spit out. Her voice was nearly emotionless and flat.

Seeing this cop at her door instead of Will was bizarre and still had her a little shaken and bewildered. The man gave her the best smile that he muster up, hiding his discomfort as best he could. The afternoon air was chilly and made Vanny shiver as the breeze swept across her wet feet. She gave a curious glance over to the cop car sitting in the driveway, then back to the man.

“What do you want?” She asked before the officer could get another question out.

“Do you know Dave Miller?” came the cop’s next question.

Vanny lingered in her doorway, clutching onto the frame nervously.

“...Yes.” She said simply. So they were here nosing around for William, huh?

“Could I come in and ask a few questions?”

“No.” Vanny denied the man boldly. She didn’t hesitate to step out onto the porch.

“The house is a mess.” She explained with a somewhat smug look about her. It was only a half-lie. William had cluttered the living room with blueprints and fabrics along with small robotic parts. She wasn’t letting anybody in her home without a warrant, either. No way in hell.

The man in front of her clearly wasn’t pleased with this response but didn’t fight it. Vanny knew her rights. She hadn’t committed any crimes that they knew of. They were suspicious of her, though, and that was enough to get her anxious. They were looking for William- or… Dave, rather. She was, too. There was no reason for them to arrest her. There was no reason for them to come into her home yet. Vanny looked up at the man, waiting for him to speak.

“Alright. I’d just like to ask you some questions, then.” he finally said.

Vanny gave the man a nod and took a seat on the old wicker furniture that William had insisted on keeping around. She wasn’t fond of the white, peeling monstrosities.

The woman watched quietly as the cop made himself comfortable in an old rocking chair directly in front of her. The officer questioned her about William’s last known location. Then he asked if they had gotten into a fight recently and so on. Vanny didn’t have a clue where William was and there was no fight that had occurred. There was only one heated argument that she and Will had ever had and that was almost a year ago. He had no reason to run off on her out of the blue. The cop explained to her that William hadn’t shown up to work for the past several days.

What he didn’t explain was that ‘Dave’s’ co-workers, despite pegging him for a weird, quiet man, became concerned and started talking. Clay had caught wind of ‘Dave Miller’s’ sudden absence rather quickly. Gossip traveled fast in such a small town, after all. One of ‘Dave’s’ co-workers had spoken to the chief when he’d come into the convenience store one day, voicing his concerns. Clay assured the teen that he’d have someone go check on Dave and he was a man of his word.

“And you have no idea where he is?” The blonde man asked one last time, eyeing the woman with suspicion. Vanny realized at that moment how the situation appeared to outside parties. William had vanished into thin air, leaving everything he had ever owned to her.

His money, car, credit cards… Vanny trembled in her seat, then. She clutched onto her pants as her body trembled and she found herself unable to keep constant eye contact with the police officer. With William gone, the woman couldn’t control herself. She was typically a decent liar and kept herself in check. Even though she was answering every question somewhat truthfully, she couldn’t fight her body as it gave her nervousness away. Maybe she could pass it off as being cold? Her legs were freezing by now. “No…” Vanny muttered truthfully.

“And you didn’t file a missing person’s report… why?”

Vanny looked up at the man then, shooting him a nasty look.

“Sometimes he takes trips out of town.” She lied. The cop narrowed his eyes at her and cocked his head sideways. He had a stupid look on his face as if he had just cracked some amazing case. “Without notifying his employer?” He asked in a disgustingly cocky tone.

Vanny dug her nails into her palms then; almost hard enough to draw blood. She was  _ pissed _ . How dare this  _ pig  _ come to  _ her _ home and accuse  _ her _ of having something to do with William’s disappearance? The smug look on his face said it all. He was beyond certain that she was guilty and that she’d given away the big secret to him. She wanted to bash his motherfucking face in with an aluminum bat. Thankfully for both parties involved, the cop seemed to be satisfied with the answers that she had given. He thanked her for her time, stood and walked off the porch. Vanny watched as the car pulled out of the driveway and headed back into town. She knew that he was coming back. He was going to blow the whistle and gather up the other pigs. He was going to get a warrant, come back and search the place for proof of foul play. As soon as that car was out of sight, Vanny stood and rushed back into the house. She had to hide… too much.

First, William’s blueprints were neatly rolled up and tucked away in a box. She carefully put all of the robotic parts into a separate box and hurriedly made her way into their bedroom.

They had gotten comfortable here; too comfortable. There was no time to waste.

Vanny hurriedly gathered up  _ everything _ that she didn’t want to be seen into a neat pile in their bedroom. There were illegal knives, mementos from Fredbear’s diner, a pretty axe she called her own and two human-sized rabbit suits. Vanny hadn’t been around to see Fredbear’s, but any link back to the place where several children were murdered wasn’t what she had needed right then. Vanny opened up an empty closet and hurriedly shoved everything inside. She shoved the suits in with care; she would kill herself if she damaged William’s suit in any way. He was going to need it when he came back.

This closet was empty for a good reason; William was a smart man that knew how to hide when things got too heated. Not only did he know how to hide, but he knew how to hide his crumbs as well. He had taught Vanny exactly how to do this in case there was an emergency.

Maybe he was testing her to see how she’d do in this situation? Surely if that were the case he wouldn’t have let the cops get involved, though…

Vanny shook the thought away and pulled the closet door shut. She would have enough time if she hurried. William had shown her how to make it appear as if there was never a room where there most certainly had been one before. He had even gone out and gotten the correct wallpaper so that they could do this if need be. Vanny hurriedly did just as he showed her, essentially walling off the closet in such a way that it looked like it had always been a flat, smooth wall. It didn’t take her too terribly long but it was certainly longer than she would have liked. Vanny hurriedly pushed a wardrobe in front of the newly applied wallpaper just to be safe, then hurriedly scrambled to put her tools away.

  
  


A few hours passed and Vanny found herself alone in the living room. The stress and anxiety from the entire situation had driven her to eat an entire tub of chocolate icecream and the leftover garlic bread in the fridge. Now an entire container of sugar and half of a loaf of bread in, Vanny felt worse than before she’d begun eating. A knock came to the door eventually and Vanny knew exactly what to expect. The woman abandoned her food on the coffee table and made her way to the front door. She unlocked it without hesitation and came face to face with Clay Burke himself. She gave him a questioning glance, then eyed the three other cops behind him. The lights on their cars were going but their sirens were off. Vanny gave Clay a tired look as the obnoxious cop from earlier gave her a shit-eating grin from over the chief’s shoulder.

Of course, he had been able to get the chief to come down and search the house personally.

Vanny was the sole suspect. Nobody else really knew ‘Dave Miller’. 

Clay gave Vanny a respectful nod and asked simply, “Can we come in?”

  
  


Nothing was found. William remained missing. Vanny was still alone.

At first, people muttered about how the woman was no longer seen anywhere with her boyfriend. The assumption of a breakup was widely spread and generally accepted. It was a logical conclusion to the situation. Unfortunately, the blonde cop was part of the community gossip, too. He made sure to tell everyone about the suspicions that Vanny had somehow done away with poor Dave Miller. Vanny went from the odd breakup story to a suspected criminal by the community. Truths were bent and lies were born. It didn’t take long before Vanny was the black sheep of the town. Even the kids rattled on about her.

“Have you heard what that creepy woman outside of town did?” They’d ask, then proceed to tell the lies their parents fed to them. If only they knew that she wasn’t a lover killer… William had made her prefer victims their age. 


	2. The Smells That Linger

Days turned into weeks and weeks stretched into months. Vanny searched everywhere she could possibly think to go. Fredbear’s was bulldozed years ago, so that was out of the question. She had even snuck into the old abandoned Freddy’s to look for William. There wasn’t a trace of him, though. Not even the robots were on the stage anymore. Vanny didn’t feel welcomed there; it was almost like countless eyes were watching her and judging her for her sins, not against them, specifically, but others. She was guilty by association, really. Vanny never went back.

When a year came and went, a heavy depression fell over the woman. Her hopes of finding her lost lover were slowly dying. Maybe he didn’t want to be found. Vanny spent many sleepless nights wondering if he had left her of his own accord or if that bastard Burke had something to do with it. While Vanny didn’t know Clay Burke well, she had seen him enough after the questions directed at her had been dropped to hate him. Hurricane was a rather small town and it was impossible to avoid him all the time. William had told her many stories about the cop; mostly about how he’d managed to outsmart Clay and never get caught for any of the killings. No bodies were found. William had won his demented game that time around. 

Vanny had since opened up the closet she’d sealed off. Sometimes she’d set William’s rabbit suit up around the house and act like he was inside. He rarely spoke while he was in his suit, anyway, so there wasn’t much of a difference. She would snuggle with it, sometimes. Its yellow fur was salty with her tears that she never cleaned off. Doing so would risk getting rid of William’s lingering scent. One day she swore she saw it move. For a moment her heart fluttered in excitement until she realized that gravity had played a nasty trick on her. The suit had simply slid down the side of the couch ever so slightly where she had set it up. Vanny swallowed down her heartbreak and tears as she trudged over to the couch, clutching her dinner in a hot bowl.

“There’s more in the kitchen.” She announced to nobody but herself.

It had been a while since she’d heard her own voice; so long in fact that it nearly startled her. 

Vanny sat down on the couch next to that suit and watched TV as she ate. The show didn’t really interest her in the slightest but it was one of William’s favorites. As the overwhelming sense of loneliness and dread settled over her, Vanny couldn’t help herself as she spoke up once again. Her voice was soft and gentle; it was obvious that she was about to cry as she spoke.

“You’re coming back, _aren’t you?_ ” She asked the empty suit beside her. It stared on with those blank, purple eyes. It didn’t say a word as it smiled wide at nothing in particular. It was always smiling. That was how the suit had been made. Without William inside, it was just that; a suit. It was a lifeless shell that Vanny clung to for comfort and validation. The suit _was_ a very good listener, though. Vanny spoke to it nonstop for the next several weeks. Sometimes when she was tired, she swore that its eyes would follow her across the room. Even though the woman had taken up speaking to the suit like William was in it, she knew that it was lifeless and that the eyes hadn’t ever moved an inch. She was sleep-deprived; not insane...

Vanny kept on talking to the suit for a few months until she had to force herself to stop. Conversing with it was slowly dragging her down a dark path. Not only would the suit’s eyes appear to follow her when she was exhausted, sometimes she swore that it wasn’t gravity making the suit shift on the couch. She shoved it back into the closet and locked the door. 

Vanny was well aware that the suit was inanimate and didn’t pose a threat to her, but talking to inanimate objects was wearing on her sanity. Vanny felt even more alone and hopeless after locking it away and the house went quiet once again.

* * *

  
  
  


The thought of Will made her smile weakly. 

Vanny was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was another one of those sleepless nights. _Two years_ had slipped by and not much had changed.

She hadn’t found another partner; that was never even a thought that had crossed her mind. Her entire being belonged to William; body, soul, mind, and life. If he wanted her to die for him she would in a heartbeat. If that man were to show up on the doorstep that night, insisting that she off herself for him, she’d do it. It didn’t matter that he’d been absent for two whole years.

She would do anything for William, just as she knew he’d do anything for her.

Warm tears spilled down the woman’s face as she clung to a pillow, holding it against her chest as her freezing body trembled. The pillow had no case over it; just a baggy T-shirt that wasn’t her own. It still smelled like William. This was how she feel asleep most nights. 

She’d drift off with her face crammed into the pillow and her eyes screwed shut tight, pretending that William was there in bed with her, holding her and telling her that everything was going to be alright. The pillow lacked his warmth, though. It lacked his voice that never failed to calm her, and it lacked the feeling of his scarred skin. She missed the way his stubble felt against her cheeks and the soft touch of his lips on hers. Vanny missed feeling alright.

Nightmares flooded her mind and she always woke the next day feeling hopeless; 

Nightmares of William dead or dying plagued her and never seemed to end.

Her waking moments weren’t much better. She could either sleep her time away and be met with horrible dreams or stay awake and be faced with the nightmare that was her lonely reality. _William wasn’t coming back._

  
  
  


Two years stretched into five. Despite her withering mental stability, Vanny never stopped searching. Her search consumed her entire life. William _was_ her entire life.

Without him, every moment felt like an eternity that had been wasted and thrown away into the trash. Those five years gnawed at her, eating away what little normality she had left.

All of Hurricane now knew her as a recluse; she was that weird woman who had gone through a weird breakup and rarely left her weird house in the country to go into town. Some people quite literally thought that she had murdered ‘Dave Miller.’ She was so tired of hearing that name.

If she went the rest of her life without hearing that stupid fucking name, she’d certainly be a lot happier. Maybe ‘happy’ wasn’t the right word to use. Vanny doubted that she could be happy anymore. She would only crawl into town to get food and the essentials to make sure that she didn’t die these days. Whenever she went into town, she was met with judging gazes and unfriendly faces. Kids would gawk at her with wide eyes and open jaws like she was some sort of amazing attraction. She was a nobody; she was nothing. Vanny was an idiot who lingered around in this shitty town with a dying hope that William would return to her.

She hadn’t felt alive in ages and she really wasn’t sure if she could feel much anymore.

Her emotions seemed about as present as William. Her ability to feel emotions had quite literally died away for the most part. Vanny would feel the vague, occasional flicker of something but it would always fade as soon as it had come. She only ate, slept and did the bare minimum to keep herself from dying. If William ever came back, he wouldn’t want to find her dead, she was sure.

Or… maybe he did. She didn’t fucking know anymore. 

Her trip to the grocery store was uneventful and boring. Very few words were spoken between her and the cashier that was ringing her up. The woman behind the counter had frizzy pink hair and a nose ring that Vanny thought was much too flashy. Unlike the rest of Hurricane, though, Vanny was decent enough to not comment on the little things she disliked about people or their appearances. Sure, she had killed her fair share of people, but she wasn’t a total dick.

The woman at the counter gave Vanny a half sympathetic look, almost as if she was apologizing for the way that Hurricane treated Vanny for a crime that she hadn’t committed.

Vanny knew well enough from their brief exchanges that the slightly overweight cashier was on her side. Hurricane seemed to be divided on their opinions over Dave’s disappearance but the bad outweighed the good. Vanny was a no-good troublemaker in most people’s eyes.

She couldn’t care less anymore.

Vanny muttered a small thanks to the cashier before grabbing her bags of food and heading out to her-... William’s car. The bags were thrown carelessly into the passenger seat of the purple vehicle and she crawled inside not even a moment later. She didn’t bother to fasten her seatbelt before starting the car. She left the door of the car open for a moment and threw her head back, sucking in a deep breath of the fresh nighttime air that was flooding in from outside. Shopping at night was much more tolerable. When you were known as a possible murderer, going out in broad daylight for everyone to gawk at wasn’t the most appealing idea. Then again, creeping about in the dark of the night wasn’t doing her much good, either. The weird recluse who possibly murdered her boyfriend only rolled into town in the dead of night… She was sure that looked great for her image. There was nothing she could do to fix that image, though. Honestly, Vanny was well beyond the point of caring what this shitty town thought of her.

“Hey.” A voice called out from the parking lot. Vanny stiffened and looked in the direction that the voice had come from. There was a teenager standing there with his hands in his pockets.

His hair was a messy red lump of curls on top of his head. He was wearing a letterman’s jacket and a pair of grass-stained jeans. There was a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Vanny briefly wondered if the kid was aware of how quickly those things were going to take over his life.

That wasn’t her business, and she really didn’t care enough to scold him.

“One of your tires are flat.” The teen informed her with a tilt of his head in the direction of the damaged tire. Vanny’s eyes widened a little and she got out of the car, muttering a quiet, “ _Shit_ ,” under her breath. She walked to the back of the car to inspect the supposed damage but found that the tire was perfectly fine. Before Vanny could scold the kid for wasting her time, a horrible pain shot through her entire body. Vanny stumbled and fell to the ground. Her head throbbed as a horrible headache washed over her. It took a moment for Vanny to realize what had just happened; the kid had whacked her over the head with a baseball bat. 

He was laughing and saying something to her that she didn’t care to pay attention to. 

Vanny wanted to stand up and gut the kid but her body refused to move. The woman stayed down with her eyes shut, sucking in shaky breaths as she tried to get a grip. The boy spat on her before pacing over to the car. With one good swing, he put a sizeable dent into the side of one of the doors. Even though the bat was made of wood, it was still doing a reasonable amount of damage to the car. Vanny’s eyes widened in horror as she struggled to push herself off of the asphalt. That was William’s car. That was William’s car and that little rat was destroying it. When the teen realized that Vanny hadn’t given up and still had some fight in her, he backed off the car. The wooden bat was lowered to the ground and he leaned against it with a smug smirk. With a careless flick of his fingers, his cigarette bounced across the ground and nearly hit Vanny. She had managed to push herself up to her knees now and was fighting the urge to vomit. Her vision was swirling, making her dizzy and unsteady on her knees.

“My dad said you were trouble.” The redhead scoffed finally. That was the first sentence Vanny had made out since being struck. “He said you killed your boyfriend. He knows you did it, too.”

“ _I didn’t kill him!!_ ” Vanny screamed out at the top of her lungs. For the first time since she was a child, she sobbed in front of someone other than William. She had been comfortable opening herself up to that sick, twisted man. She hadn’t trusted anybody else before him and she hadn’t trusted anybody after. He was her everything and with him gone she had nothing.

Vanny knew that William would want her to be strong in his absence but she was too broken to stay together at that moment. She sobbed and dug her nails into the hard asphalt below her scraped up hands. Showing her weakness to this boy was a mistake and she knew that. Crying and showing her emotions like this was weak and pathetic but something inside of her snapped at that moment. Hearing someone blame William being gone on her right to her face was too much. The sound of the teenager laughing let her know that she’d won no sympathy from him.

“What? You expect me to buy this stupid bullshit, whore?” The teenager took a few steps closer to Vanny, dragging his bat behind him. Vanny stopped crying, then. She fell completely silent as the boy continued to approach her. She sucked in a deep breath and slowly slid her hand down to her hip. Before the boy could register what was happening, Vanny lunged up at him with a glistening blur of motion. The bat was dropped to the ground as her knife plunged into his stomach. The boy let out a choked gasp as he was pushed onto his back. Vanny was on him in a heartbeat, plunging her knife in and out of his stomach repeatedly. The sight and smell of blood excited her in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time. With an excited intake of breath, Vanny let out a small giggle as she drove her blade into the teen’s stomach one final time. She left it deep inside of him for several long moments as she panted; attempting to catch her breath. Blood had splattered all over Vanny’s jacket, staining the green fabric beyond hope of salvaging it. There was a wonderful sound that filled the woman’s ears at that moment. It was a sound she hadn’t heard in years. The boy’s breathing was uneven as he choked and struggled to breathe. He was trying to push the woman away in a pathetic attempt to save his life but Vanny was physically stronger than him. The boy was nothing without his weapon; he was left to the hands of the woman who was taking great pleasure in seeing his pain.

The boy tried to say something to Vanny but couldn’t seem to form words. The woman loomed above him with a distant look in her eyes. It was like she was watching him from behind a wall of glass; almost like she was in a movie that she had no control over. Vanny was on autopilot; completely disconnected from the world around her. She felt as if nothing could hurt her then and that she was the center of the world. The boy finally found it in himself to whisper out a pathetic plea. He begged her to help him. That made Vanny smile.

“Help? Help the one who attacked me for no reason?” She hummed out in a sing-song voice.

There was something odd yet familiar running through her blood, then. It was an old feeling that she hadn’t felt in far too long. Despite the unwanted attack, Vanny seemed to be glad that it had happened. Her gaze drifted down to the knife that was plunged into the boy’s stomach for a brief moment before yanking it out. A quick hand over his mouth muffled his pained scream.

Vanny’s eyes drifted up to gaze at the supermarket. The employee was nowhere in sight.

The pink-haired woman always slipped to the back when there were no customers inside. Perfect. A perfect crime in the dead of night. Vanny stood slowly and slipped her knife back into its sheath on her hip, not caring if there was blood to be cleaned later. She needed to leave before she was spotted and there had to be two murders that night. The boy’s bat was picked up and tossed into the passenger seat before Vanny grabbed at his legs and drug him across the parking lot to the back of William’s car. The hood was opened and her barely conscious cargo was thrown inside roughly. The teen made a pained sob as he was thrown onto his stomach into the empty trunk. Vanny stared at him for a long moment, watching the way he trembled as he attempted to cling to consciousness. She cocked her head sideways in a curious manner before smiling wide and shutting the trunk.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Was the farm still around? Vanny silently wondered about the farm as she drove through the countryside. She had no idea if the kid had bled out in the trunk yet or not. It didn’t matter either way. He’d take his last breath before the night was over. When a large barn came into view, Vanny smiled. _It was still here._ She turned her radio down, quieting the trashy song that the local radio station provided her. Within a few moments, she was parked beside the barn and out of sight from anyone passing by on the road. It was highly unlikely that anyone would be passing by on this desolate road in the middle of nowhere this late at night, but caution never hurt. The owner of the farm was an elderly man who was just a little too friendly and dimwitted. He had always been blissfully unaware of the meals that the strangers in the dark provided his livestock. If everyone involved was lucky, he would never find out. Vanny and William had used this place several times in the past to dispose of their questionable hobby’s unwanted waste. The radio was turned off and Vanny exited the car after snagging the bat out of the seat beside her. She hummed quietly as she walked around to the back of the car. The sound of her friends was audible from where she stood beside the barn. She missed those fat bastards. The hood slowly lifted up, revealing the half-conscious boy who had been kind enough to bleed all over inside of the trunk. This wouldn’t be the first time she had to scrub the back of that car.

“You’re a dumb little fucker, you know that?” Vanny asked him with an amused snicker. She dropped the bat to the ground and grabbed him by the arms. Another pained sob left the teen as he was carelessly yanked out onto the muddy ground. Vanny pulled him up to the barn door and then released him with a tired huff. “You’re heavy.” She complained irritably.

“ _Please…_ ” The kid managed to hiss out. Vanny ignored the plea and grabbed ahold of him again, pulling him inside of the barn.

His vision was fading in and out, but the boy knew what was going on. The sound of squeals and snorts filled his ears as his tired eyes caught sight of floppy ears and round snouts. An unpleasant smell filled the barn that made him want to spill his dinner all over the hay-covered floor. Vanny didn’t seem phased by the smell. She had clearly been exposed to it before.

“Pigs are amazing creatures, you know?” Vanny hummed as she began stripping the boy of his bloody jacket and shirt. He made a noise in objection but couldn’t find the strength to physically stop her. His shoes came off next, then his socks and jeans. Vanny left his underwear on; she wasn’t a creep. She simply wanted to help the pigs enjoy their meal without too much trouble.

“I’d ramble on about how they’re good at disposing of corpses, but I’m sure you already know that, don’t you? I’m sure you’ve seen it in movies.” The woman hummed out in amusement. She lifted the boy and threw him into a metal bin. It was slimy and disgusting and smelled like rotten eggs. Vanny turned and walked out of the barn, only to return wielding the bat.

The kid looked up at the woman in horror as she swung it around as if she were hitting invisible baseballs. If it were under different circumstances, it would look like she was testing it out in a store before buying it. In this case, she was getting a good idea of how it would feel to bash in his skull.

“My dad will kill you. He’s a cop.” The kid threatened with a croaky voice.

Vanny let out an amused giggle. “Oh, _sweetheart…_ ”

That was the last thing she said before swinging down as hard as she could on his face. She lost count of how many times she whacked him, honestly. Blood had splattered everywhere including her; coating both the barn and herself in that pretty red that she had grown to love.

Not every whack had been to the kid’s face, though. His hands had been broken in his futile attempts to shield himself from the weapon that had gotten him into this mess, to begin with.

The boy’s face was disgusting to look at, but the slight rising and falling of his chest told Vanny that he was still alive. The woman panted and loosened her grip on the bat. Her eyes drifted between the dying teen and the pigs frantically squirming around in their pen. 

She had made her friends wait long enough.

Vanny paced over to the pen and undid the latch, letting the animals scurry out into the center of the barn. All of them made a beeline for the trough and wasted no time in biting into their midnight snack. Vanny watched as they bit into his flesh, snorting and fighting over it like the wild animals they were. She needed a shower.


	3. Cake For One

_Today was a very special day._ Vanny had gotten up early to prepare for tonight.

She wasn’t good at many ‘normal’ hobbies, but she had learned to bake cakes quite well in the past.

As soon as she had found out that William’s favorite flavor was red velvet, she set out to learn how to make the best red velvet cake she could possibly bake. It took quite a few attempts for her to make it just the way that William had liked, but he had been very pleased and surprised when she had woken him up on his birthday with the enticing scent of his favorite dessert. She made a cake for him every year after that; _it didn’t matter if he was around anymore to eat it._

The first time William’s birthday came and went with him absent was hard on her, but she found comfort in baking his cake and consuming it all over a period of several days. 

She had drug that yellow rabbit suit back out on that first lonely birthday to set up in William’s chair at the table. She had sung to it, then presented it with a slice of cake. It smiled at her like it always did but didn’t partake in the sugary dessert.

_Maybe he wasn’t hungry...?_

Despite having told herself that she wouldn’t, Vanny had broken her own rule of not dragging the suit out to converse with; but it was for a special occasion! Taking it out once a year was acceptable, she rationalized. There was a huge difference between spending every day with it and one day a year with it. It was William’s birthday, after all. She couldn’t celebrate it alone.

Vanny would spend William’s birthdays with the empty suit; giving it cake in the early morning and talking to it throughout the day. The rabbit kept her company and watched movies with her as the day drug on. She would tell it how she was doing as if William were inside, listening to every word she spoke with great interest. Vanny referred to it as William, and she did a somewhat decent job of convincing herself that he was in there. It was just for one day, she would remind herself. Taking one day to pretend that all was well wouldn’t drive her completely insane. She would snuggle against the suit that night, then return it to its place inside of the closet in the morning.

It was only once a year that she really pulled it out to converse with. She would check on it throughout the rest of the year occasionally to make sure that no mice or anything of the sort had been damaging it, but kept it secluded in darkness for the majority of the time.

_Today_ was William’s birthday, and as had become customary, Vanny drug the rabbit out just like she had done for the past _seven years. William had been gone for seven years._

Vanny had never been questioned about the teenager’s disappearance two years ago. He had apparently become rather troublesome with his parents and it was suspected that he had skipped town. He’d always complained about how terrible Hurricane was. 

Vanny was never a suspect, yet the town’s weariness of her lingered. 

_She was a weird recluse who had killed her boyfriend._

Vanny hadn’t really been mentally well seven years ago, but her sanity had thinned even more since then. The only human interaction she ever had was when she went into town once every week or two. What was the point of going into town? She had William right here in front of her. 

Vanny smiled up at the rabbit sitting at the end of the kitchen table. He hadn’t touched his birthday cake as per usual, but Vanny was enjoying her own slice with a giddy smile plastered to her face.

“I had a dream about you last night.” Vanny began as she set her fork down for the time being.

The rabbit waited for her to continue patiently; never interrupting like the gentleman he was.

“Henry was with us… We were down by the forest.” Vanny blinked and looked down at her cake, pondering to herself in silence for a few moments. She had never actually met Henry despite living in the same town. In the past, she had wondered if he had something to do with William going missing. It was highly unlikely, though. William had always described him as a huge pushover. Henry was big and could certainly look intimidating but the man was just a huge teddy bear. Vanny didn’t know much about Henry other than the fact that he and William had been business partners when they were much younger. By the way that William had spoken about the man, Vanny came to quickly assume that there was more to their relationship than just business partners. Will had even slipped up a couple of times and referred to Henry as a friend.

Something had obviously happened between the two that made William uncomfortable, so she never questioned him about their past together. 

Besides some stray photos of William and him that were tucked away in drawers, the only time she had ever seen Henry was a handful of times she glimpsed him in the grocery store after she… began living alone. There was usually a brunette child with him, clinging to his flannel shirt with a death grip. When Vanny had initially seen the child in the store, a sick, twisted thought reared its ugly head. 

_She would be fun to kill._

Despite Vanny’s itch for violence, she had swallowed down her urges and hurriedly finished shopping before rushing back home. That child was the daughter of one of William’s friends. Even Vanny wasn’t going to sink _that_ low. Henry had obviously meant something to William at some point in time, so hurting him wasn’t something she was willing to do

Vanny took another small bite of her cake and cleared her throat, brushing off the cold chill that shot down her spine. Her tired eyes drifted up to meet the purple ones at the end of the table.

“Do you miss him?” She asked it in a soft voice. _‘William’_ didn’t reply. He smiled and let the silence stretch on, leaving Vanny to fill in the blanks for herself.

“Do you miss Henry?” Again, ‘William’ didn’t respond. Vanny shifted in her chair, then stood to her feet. Her gaze shifted down to the uneaten cake in front of the rabbit.

“ _Do you… miss me?_ ” Even though there was no sound that broke the deafening silence, Vanny could hear William’s voice in her head. It wasn’t a hallucination; she had just heard that horribly wonderful man say it so many times that it was burnt into her very being.

_‘Yes, darling.’_

The use of pet names had become common for them. While they were by no means sickly sweet about it, the occasional use of _‘darling’_ or _‘dearest’_ was enough to send Vanny’s corrupt little heart into a racing mess. Butterflies filled her stomach and chest, making her tremble every time she heard it. She was completely smitten with William; even the tiniest scraps of affection would send her head over heels into a lovestruck daze. Vanny’s throat tightened when those sweet words didn’t _actually_ fill her ears. The room was still, filled now only with her soft, broken sobs.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Eight years was a horribly long time to wait for your boyfriend to come home. Vanny had never fully given up her hope, though. Some small part of her still held onto the belief that William was coming back despite what a rational person would have come to assume.

_He was gone for good._

Vanny couldn’t accept that he was gone; she had clung to everything he had ever owned, desperately longing for his return with every passing day.

Time hadn’t been kind to her, however. Time had changed both her and Hurricane over the span of those eight years. Quite a few of Hurricane’s residents had left, most likely in search of greener pastures that weren’t stained with the sins of a horrible, rumor filled past.

Vanny stayed. Despite it all, she’d never leave. It didn’t matter if William had left her of his own will. If there was even a small chance that he had been taken and was trying to find his way back, Vanny was going to stay. There was no proof of anything to support him being taken _or_ him leaving by choice; so the woman stayed, waiting patiently for her lover’s return.

Vanny had noticed the changes around Hurricane but barely noticed the changes that had happened to her. Her hair had lightened considerably and her eyes had become dull and tired. She’d chopped the majority of her hair off, keeping it much shorter than she used to. It once reached down a little past her shoulders but now it didn’t even touch them.

Vanny had by no means gotten fat, but her once slender figure had thickened noticeably. With nobody around to stay pretty for, she’d struggled to care what she ate.

She and William usually snagged a few children every couple of months from out of town to have their fun with, but the only person she had killed on her own was that teenager who had attacked her. Her urge to kill was there, but just like her emotions, it was dulled.

It took too much effort to clean up the aftermath, so Vanny didn’t bother with killing.

Hurricane had succumb to the passage of time as well. Small mom and pop stores were closing and the town was essentially dead. Vanny had heard recently that Henry and his daughter had moved away, and she couldn’t say that she blamed them. Despite it all, though, Hurricane felt like home to her. It was the safest place she had ever known, despite the presence of two serial killers; one being herself. The town had a horrible past and a bleak future _, yet someone had decided that there was still a buck to make in this corpse of a town._

The land that Freddy’s sat on had been purchased by a newcomer several months ago.

News always traveled fast in Hurricane, even to the recluse. Much to the town’s disgust, the new owner of Freddy’s intended to make the building into some kind of sick attraction.

The stories of the missing children had spread much farther than Utah, and the man who had purchased the building knew that. People would come to gawk at the piece of dark history. It was already being advertised, even though many of Hurricane’s residents begged Clay to put a stop to it. The owner of the soon-to-be attraction, Fazbear’s Frights, was breaking no laws.

He owned that land and could do with it as he pleased, and if he wanted to make a living off of the misfortune of Hurricane’s still-grieving residents, that’s exactly what he was going to do.

Vanny had initially been angry when she’d caught wind of what the man was doing.

Sure, it was a way for William’s name to live on, even if the public wasn’t sure who the masked killer was, or even his name, but Freddy’s was partly William’s. He had designed those robots; he had made them from the ground up with Henry and he had made something to be remembered. Even though Freddy’s had been shut down for over ten years, the wounds were still much too fresh to be pulling a stunt like this. As much as Clay despised the idea of drawing people into Hurricane just to gawk and stick their noses where they didn’t belong, there was nothing he could do. 

Vanny knew that there was nothing left in that building that William cared about, though. He’d gotten everything of value to him out of there and had stashed it away in different corners of their house. The animatronics weren’t currently Vanny’s roommates, though.

She knew well enough by William’s stories that they could be dangerous when activated; she hadn’t been filled in on why, though. She assumed that he’d simply made them that way; it was William, after all. That was why when word spread of an animatronic being found, Vanny was sent into a panic. That new bastard of an owner had something that didn’t belong to him; he could have the building and the money from tourists that William had managed to make a legend for, but the animatronics were _his_. Nobody else was allowed to have his creations; only her. 

The same night that Vanny had caught wind of the discovery of the animatronic, she prepared to go and retrieve it. She and William had broken into plenty of places in the past, so breaking and entering wasn’t something new and scary to her. If she was really lucky, they hadn’t changed the locks just yet. Vanny slid on a baggy flannel jacket that was much too baggy on her, fished an old key out of William’s belongings and slid her knife into its sheath on her hip.

When she stepped outside, the night air was cold and brisk. There was no sign of any approaching storms, and the weather was perfect. Vanny pulled the front door closed, locked it, and then headed down the driveway to the car. If all went well, she’d be coming home with an important gift for William when he got back. She briefly wondered which robot the new owner had managed to dig up.

Only time would tell, and hopefully, time was going to finally be kind to her.


	4. Her Dull Eyes

The drive to Freddy’s, or Fazbear’s Frights, was relatively short and uneventful.

Vanny had nearly hit a rabbit that had scurried across the road and had barely managed to miss it. Unlike humans, she didn’t enjoy hurting animals. She tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel as she continued down the road, heading towards Fazbear’s Fright in the cover of night. It was a starry, cloudless night. The moon was in the sky, illuminating the forest around her as she drove down the country road towards town. 

Freddy’s wasn’t in the middle of town; It sat tucked away out of sight near the edge of a forest.

There most likely wouldn’t be anybody there at this time of night, so Vanny was counting on relatively no witnesses. Just in case someone was there, she had brought her mask along.

It had been quite a while since she’d carried out anything questionable while hiding behind that toothy grin. She’d taken great care of it over the years; it was still good as new.

The fur was soft to the touch and the eyes were a glossy, bright red.

When Freddy’s came into view, there was a singular car parked in the lot. 

“ _Dammit._ ” The woman muttered under her breath. The parking lot was barely lit by a singular functioning light that loomed under the old, brown vehicle. Vanny realized that there was a good possibility that the car belonged to a security guard. The owner had most likely been threatened for even creating Fazebear’s Frights. Hurricane’s residents were pretty pissed about the attraction’s existence, to begin with. The best course of action was to have someone there 24/7, Vanny supposed. Hurricane’s residents had proven to be rather … aggressive in the past.

The possibility of angered _ex-_ parents storming over to damage the place or burn it down was pretty high. Vanny pulled the car off of the road and into a patch of trees that extended out from the forest. She didn’t need to be spotted by anyone. The car would stick out like a sore thumb if she pulled into the parking lot; nobody else in Hurricane had a purple vehicle and everyone would immediately know who owned it. Being caught breaking and entering wasn’t another thing Vanny wanted to be known for. While she wasn’t above such a thing, giving the town yet another reason to complain about her didn’t sound too appealing.

The grass was tall and unkept in the area where Vanny had parked, and as she got out, the grass brushed against her bare legs. Spring was practically here but the nights were still bitter cold. A small breeze made Vanny shiver and wish she had worn pants rather than shorts. 

Carefully avoiding stepping in a few muddy puddles, Vanny began to creep out of the cover of the trees and towards Fazbear’s Fright. The place was in worse shape than it had been since her last visit. The outside walls were covered in moss and the paint had peeled and faded.

Vanny didn’t have to wonder what the inside would look like for long.

When she finally reached the building, Vanny stretched out her arm to brush her cold fingers across the wall. It was ice cold and wet with dew, but something about how it felt comforted Vanny. She had been here only once before it had shut down but had felt much too old to truly fit in. It was odd how quickly things could change and rot; back then her biggest concern was what she was going to eat for dinner. Now she was breaking into a rotting building to steal a run down animatronic from Freddy’s. Things were always changing, weren’t they?

Vanny wasn’t sure if the building had been left in such a state of disrepair on purpose or not. She could see the appeal of the rotting look since it was going to be a horror attraction, but there was a very high chance that the man who had bought it simply didn’t have enough money to pour into building repairs. Vanny could practically picture the inside now; crawling with rats and filled with mold. On second thought, she should have brought a mask to avoid sucking in the air. Oh well… Her rabbit mask had to do. Vanny looked down at the mask she held in her hands, then smiled as she slipped it on. Here went nothing.

There were no windows that Vanny could break in through. They had all been boarded up. Dragging a huge animatronic through the windows didn’t sound very easy anyway.

Vanny gently held the key to the building in her hands, running her thumb over the cold surface.

She had secured it around her neck on a lanyard; losing it wasn’t an option.

Vanny paced around to the back door with purpose in her step. The giant metal door was painted a dark green that had chipped away over time, showing off the rust underneath.

The doorknob looked just as old as the door itself; had it not been replaced?

Vanny held her breath as she slid the key inside the lock…. It fit. With an excited intake of breath, Vanny twisted the key. There was an audible click, signaling that the door had been unlocked. The door protested with a loud squeal as it was pushed open, revealing a dark hallway. Vanny removed the key from the lock and then stepped inside with a cautious glance around. The corner she now stood in was illuminated with a red glow from an exit sign that loomed directly overhead. She took care to make sure that the door closed as quietly as possible. Her suspicions were confirmed about a security guard when she realized the first room in front of her was a security office. There was a faint humming from inside but she couldn’t see the source of the noise. Vanny’s eyes drifted up slowly. There was a red blinking light in the corner and Vanny realized a little too late that it was a security camera. There was a shuffling from inside of the office that sent Vanny rushing down the hall; there was a wide window that stretched across the wall of the office. As Vanny ran down the darkened hallway, she glanced through the window and into the office. It was just as run-down as the hallways; complete with old children’s drawings and other decorations that had been abandoned. 

Even through the mask, the smell of rot and mold was strong and sickening. Vanny did her best to ignore it and continue deeper into the building, though. The security guard hadn’t been in the office when she had run by, so she assumed he was on her tail and that was what she had heard from inside of the office; he was most likely coming out to check out the odd woman in a rabbit mask that had appeared on his monitor. The building was a maze of dead party rooms and broken arcade machines and in the darkness, it provided Vanny perfect cover to slip in somewhere and hide. That was exactly what she did. Vanny found an arcade room and slipped inside. It was quiet and still and the air was damp. Vanny squeezed in between to of the arcade cabinets and remained perfectly still. She’d let the guard tire of looking for her and then start nosing around for that robot. In the darkness, there was complete silence, but Vanny wasn’t alone in that room.

In the corner, tucked away from her line of view, was a horrible, rotting monstrosity.

The thing stood motionless in the corner; not daring to move. It hadn’t woken just yet and its eyes were shut. While it didn’t need to sleep, it didn’t see a need to spend every moment awake, either. Just like everything else in the building, the monster, too, had decayed.

Their fur was a disgusting mess of mold and dirt; it had become a ratty, tangled mess that would most likely never return to its original color. Its eyelids began to lift open as it began to come back to a conscious state; it swore it had heard something...

Vanny removed her mask from where she stood, wedged between the two arcade machines. It was much too hot in here for it and the lack of air was making her claustrophobic; she needed to get out of that room and find that robot. Vanny walked out from the machines quickly and slipped into the hallway, clutching her mask at her side. 

So he _had_ heard something… The monster watched as the woman hurried out of the room. He made no move to follow her just yet, though. His sight remained foggy for a moment as he tried to fully push away the grogginess that being asleep caused him. He had seen his guest well enough to tell that it was a woman, though. What he failed to see was the mask that she carried along with her. As the giant robot moved away from where he was leaning in the corner, he felt an excited shiver rush down his metallic spine. This would be fun.

  
  


Vanny paced down the halls, peeking into each room as she passed by. Despite how dark many of them were, she could tell that there was no animatronic inside. There was no sign of any complete animatronic anywhere. There was a lamp in the hallway that used a Foxy mask as a lampshade; which was no doubt a fire hazard. Bits and pieces of suits were scattered in the rooms; reminding Vanny that what William had once been so proud of making was now in pieces. There was no complete animatronic; there was nothing here for her. Vanny paused when she came across a large gift box in a corner of one of the party rooms. Maybe it was in there? Vanny paced forward slowly, prepared to bolt if the thing was active and aggressive. When the lid to the box was lifted off and she was met with nothing but emptiness, she let out an annoyed huff. She had little care if the guard had spotted her on the cameras; if he had seen her on her way in, he had most likely already contacted the police. She had to hurry; now that the owner’s fears were confirmed about a break-in, security would be a lot tighter. Vanny sat her mask down on an old party table for a moment with a sigh. They may even change the locks as well… The woman swallowed down her worry and turned away from the empty gift box. There were only a few rooms left to look in. Vanny walked away from the table, leaving her mask behind with the intention of retrieving it in a few moments. As Vanny stepped out into the hallway, a grinding noise caught her attention. Her eyes widened fearfully as she turned and looked down the hall from where she had come from. There, in the center of the hallway, stood the animatronic. Its body was in a state of disrepair and one of its big, floppy ears was mostly gone. Holes littered this thing’s body, and its feet had no remaining fur. Bits of broken, jagged metal stuck out from its ears along with wires that had been split and ruined.

Vanny stared in awe for a long moment. _That was it. That had to be Bonnie._

Despite her better judgment, Vanny took a slow step towards the rabbit. It seemed a little surprised by this if its widening eyes were anything to go by.

“Hey, Bonnie,” Vanny whispered out in a soft voice. She took another step closer.

The rabbit’s eyes narrowed at the use of that name, but he didn’t speak. He let the woman continue to approach. Was she just stupid or was she planning something?

“I’m here to fix you,” She lied. If she could just get closer and power the rabbit down, she could bring him home without worrying about him turning hostile.

The yellow rabbit took a step towards her. He kept a blank expression on his face but approached her as she approached him. His steps were mechanical and odd; Vanny had never seen one of William’s robots walk like that. This one had no doubt rotted away and been damaged in some way. She didn’t know much about robots, but she was sure there was something in William’s belongings at home that would explain how to fix the rabbit’s legs.

The rotting rabbit stared down at her. Something about her seemed familiar to him, yet completely foreign. Vanny continued to approach the rabbit after he had already stilled in the hallway. He moved nothing but his eyes as she approached; the glowing white pupils followed her movements like a hungry predator about to pounce. Vanny felt like she was being stared down by something terrible, and she was. This was for William, though. She needed to get this robot home-

The animatronic lunged forward, slashing Vanny across the face with his sharp claws.

Shocked and in pain, Vanny stumbled backward as she raised a hand to hold her bleeding face. The cuts were deep and blood was streaming down her cheek and splattering onto the black and white tiles at her feet. The gash burnt under her palm; she needed to disinfect it when she got home. By the state that animatronic was in, it was bound to get infected.

Vanny snapped out of her shock and began running down the halls, away from the rabbit.

She made her way into the main dining area and rushed through the rows of old chairs. The sound of mechanical stomping behind her was deafening as she fled for her life.

What in the fuck was the attraction doing letting this thing run around freely?

What in the fuck were they thinking when they decided to keep it active, to begin with?

The sound of tables and chairs screeching across the floor behind her gave Vanny a good idea of how close the rabbit was. He was much too large to navigate through the rows like she was able to. She needed to find somewhere to hide or get away from the rabbit.

Vanny still intended to somehow detain it and bring it home, but her main priority was getting somewhere safe first. If the animatronic had sharp enough claws to cut her face the way it did, her throat would be very easy for it to slice through. Bleeding to death on the dirty pizzeria floor wasn’t something she wanted to experience. Maybe if the thing did get ahold of her and maul her, she could haunt this place and torment the owner… 

As much fun as that hypothetically sounded, Vanny ran up to the show stage as fast as she could. There were no animatronics positioned on the stage; it was empty and void of the artificial life it once sported. Freddy and Chica were nowhere to be seen, but Vanny had a pretty decent idea of where Bonnie was. With one good leap, Vanny was up on the stage.

She sucked in panicked breaths and turned around to stare at the rabbit as he slowed his pace.

He stared at the stage for a brief moment, then came to a halt. His legs were damaged, Vanny knew. If she was lucky, he wouldn’t be able to climb up on the stage.

The rabbit glanced up at her with a blank stare, then narrowed his eyes. A horrendous growl rolled out of his throat, and his ears flattened in anger. Vanny kept a good distance away from the edge of the stage; having it lunge up and grab her would mean her end. She wouldn’t be able to overpower that thing. Once she had caught her breath, Vanny spoke to the rabbit.

“Let me fix you, Bonnie.” She pleaded in a small voice. “The cops are coming. I don’t have much time. Come on.” The rabbit tensed at that last part. His jaw opened slightly, and he let out a horrible hissing sound. It reminded Vanny of an angry cat, only much deeper and creepy.

Vanny watched the rabbit as he began to pace along the edge of the stage; there were no stairs for him to clamber up, and while he could crawl up there, it would most likely damage him in the process. Things were barely holding together as it was.

“Do you remember who made you?” She asked it. The rabbit looked over at her from the corner of his eye but continued his pacing as he tried to figure out the best course of action. It didn’t speak a word. The animatronic looked determined to gets its hands on Vanny, and that was exactly what it was going to do. The rabbit leaned on the edge of the stage, glaring at Vanny in the dim light. He let out a wicked chuckle; it was distorted by a mechanical voice that skipped and glitched. Vanny watched it with a sympathetic look. Could it even speak? Its voice box seemed to be damaged. The woman took a step closer to the edge of the stage, making sure to stay far enough away that she was out of danger. The rabbit’s eyes locked with hers as one of his hands slowly extended out without her noticing.

“Let me fix you, Bon.” 

Once again with speed that should have been impossible for the decaying robot, he lunged forward. He hadn’t been leaning in as far as he could like Vanny had thought. His withering fingers wrapped around her ankle and yanked her as hard as he could.

Vanny’s head smacked against the stage as he pulled her off of it. Struggling was useless, but Vanny attempted nonetheless. She kicked and squirmed and growled as the animatronic grabbed her neck and drug her across the room. He brought her to a corner and roughly slammed her against it. She was like a ragdoll to this beast, and he fully intended on taking her life. Vanny kicked and struggled as the rabbit lifted her up by her neck, slowly suffocating her. 

The scent of her blood was teasing him; he wanted to smell more. He wanted to gut her and feel how it felt to rip someone apart in this body. She smelled like blood and ….

The rabbit paused. He stared at the woman’s face in the darkness. Her features were hard to make out but… He lowered his hand down to allow her to breathe and instead held her up from under her arms. With a low growl, the animatronic pushed his nose against the side of her head. He sniffed her just like a dog would; taking in her scent.

It was familiar. _He knew this scent._ She smelled like a mixture of men’s cologne and some kind of feminine shampoo; _Springtrap knew this scent._ The rabbit continued to sniff her, and as he did, he began to realize more things about her that were familiar. The jacket she was wearing looked very much like something he would have once worn. Her muddy boots had stopped kicking at him for the time being; now she was just staring at him in a state of confusion. She was wondering why she wasn’t dead, no doubt. Springtrap pulled away from her but continued to hold her against the wall. His eyes scanned down her body, then back up to her face.

A gap in the boards along the windows was enough for a small amount of flashing red and blue light to flood into the pizzeria; lighting up her features.

He didn’t recognize the face in front of him. Her once wide, excited eyes were tired and dull. Her hair was frizzy and lighter than it had been the last time he had seen it. When he had watched her wander throughout the empty rooms, she no longer walked with that happy bounce in her step; she walked as if she was heading nowhere and saw no final destination in front of her. Those eyes were still hers, though. She was still herself. _And she was his._

_He knew it was her._

Springtrap carefully lowered her to the floor and made sure she was steady before removing his hands from her arms. She stared up at him with wide, confused eyes. The rabbit cocked his head sideways as a horribly sad look washed over him. He used one of his fingers to brush over her cheek, feeling along the cut that he’d given her. Her blood soaked up into his fur, but it didn’t excite him anymore. It didn’t make him happy. The touch made Vanny gasp and wince, and Springtrap pulled his finger away like he’d touched something hot. Vanny watched in silence as the rabbit bent over so that he was eye-level with her. There was a long moment of silence before Vanny sucked in a shaky breath. Her hands found themselves on his nose and cheeks. Her fingers sunk into the dirty fur as she held that precious face in her hands. She didn’t speak; she couldn’t find words. The fur she held had never been purple; it had never been the Bonnie she knew. The eyes had never been magenta, and the black that filled those sockets had never expressed such a softness. Tears ran down Vanny’s cheeks at the robot opened his mouth to speak. Instead of a goofy robotic voice, she was met with a much softer, familiar one. It had an accent she had grown to love; it had that tone that always calmed her.

The voice was _his_ . _It was him._

“ _Hello,_ _Darling…_ ”


	5. Come Home

Vanny flung herself around the animatronic’s neck, clutching at him desperately as she sobbed out. Her vision was blurry from her tears and her knees were shaking. She would have fallen if Springtrap hadn’t been there to hold her in his arms. He was very delicate with her as she clung to him. Her face was buried into his chest almost immediately as she openly wept.

She kept sucking in trembling breaths, attempting to breathe in between her sobs.

The rabbit scooped her up with ease, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Vanny couldn’t find words; she wanted to tell him so many things and ask him so many questions. When she finally found her voice, it was soft and sounded scared.

“ _ Is it really you? _ ” She managed pathetically. Her face remained hidden in the fur of his chest. She didn’t care how filthy the fur was or how moldy it smelled. This was William. This was her lover. All of this felt like some kind of outlandish fever dream to her. Vanny was fearful that if she pulled away from him that this would all fade away into a void of black, and then she’d wake in a cold sweat. Was this another one of her weird nightmares? The painful way that the rabbit’s fur rubbed against the cuts on her cheek assured her to some degree that this was real, and she wasn’t dreaming. Springtrap ran one of his hands across the back of her head.

“It’s me,” He assured her in a gentle voice. The voice was familiar yet different; Vanny could tell that it was William’s voice, but there was something new about it. It sounded like he hadn’t spoken in a very long time. Vanny sniffled and trembled, shaking like a scared child in this beast’s arms. 

A movement from a party room nearby caught Springtrap’s eye, and with a fearful shiver, he clutched onto Vanny a little tighter. He wasn’t letting anyone- or anything- take her away from him or hurt her. There was an inhumanely tall figure in that room, staring at the two with a wide, permanent grin. Springtrap took a cautious step back to further distance himself from the figure that Vanny hadn’t noticed. His ears perked up ever so slightly when he was reminded of the lights flashing outside. The cops most definitely were here like Vanny had warned him about.

The smiling figure remained perfectly still; watching their new guest with burning white pupils.

“ _ You shouldn’t be here, _ ” Springtrap hissed under his breath to Vanny. As much as he didn’t want to let Vanny go, he had to. If she were caught, there would be no hope of getting her back in here. “ _ No- _ ” Vanny argued as she peeled herself away from his now-bloody chest. Springtrap winced at the sight of the blood that had been smeared across her face.

“Neither of us should be. Come home,  _ William _ .” Vanny gently caressed the side of Springtrap’s face. Her fingers traced along the holes in the animatronic’s cheeks, feeling them with great care. Springtrap tensed at that name, then glanced back up at the smiling figure who was watching them. There was no time for a happy reunion right now. Springtrap gave her the best smile he could; successfully hiding how nervous he was about that figure in the other room. The police would do nothing to him; he belonged here. Nobody knew of what lay inside of him or the fact that he was anything more than a rundown robot. Vanny, on the other hand… 

Springtrap stared at the glowing white pupils in the other room for a moment, then sat Vanny down. The woman shrunk in on herself then. A horrible ache filled her chest as the rabbit’s fur slipped away from her, leaving her feeling emptier than she had in years. She wasn’t leaving William now, no way in hell. Her throat tightened as she watched Springtrap pull away.

_“You need to leave,”_ _William_ whispered softly. His giant, rotting body shifted and turned so that he could bend down to better face her once again. He stared deep into those eyes he had gazed into hundreds of times before. Despite no longer having a stomach, he swore he felt it fluttering. She still gave him feelings that nobody else could; heart or not.

“You’re fucking stupid if you think I’m leaving.” Vanny hissed out.  _ Did he… really not want her here?  _ Had she spent all these years waiting for someone who wasn’t waiting for her?

Tears began to roll down her face again, only this time they weren’t happy ones.

Springtrap’s eyes widened as he realized what he had made this seem like. He moved forward suddenly and cupped her cheek, shaking his head frantically.

“ _ No, no. _ You need to leave before  _ they  _ get you,” he said softly.

Vanny’s shoulders fell then as her entire body relaxed. She sniffled and nodded. Before Springtrap could say anything more, she reached out and took his much larger hands in her own. She stared down at them with fondness in her eyes despite the tears that were still blurring her vision ever so slightly. Even the black claws that had sliced her flesh were beautiful to her;  _ they were part of him. _ They were William’s.

_ “I can’t make it out with them here, Vanny.”  _ Springtrap continued. He wrapped his paws around Vanny’s tiny hands for a moment, then slid a one up to tilt her chin up. The two locked eyes for a long moment, and then he stood back up to his full height. The robot easily towered over her; he had to be at least seven feet tall. With his good ear raised up, he was even taller.

He was right; there was no way that she was getting him out of here tonight. He was much too big to go unnoticed, and there was no way to easily sneak him out. There was no telling how long the cops would be sniffing around for evidence, and if Vanny didn’t hurry, they’d find the car. As much as she didn’t want to, Vanny nodded in agreement.

“I’ll come back, then. I’ll come back and get you.” She stated with determination.

Springtrap smiled softly; he had missed her enthusiasm….  _ He had missed her. _

“ _ I’ll be here, _ ” he assured her with a low chuckle. Vanny hesitated before taking a step away from William. After all this time,  _ she _ was leaving  _ him. _ Part of her wanted to take her chances of getting caught and stay here with him. She needed to get her mask and get out, though. 

“I’ll come back.” She promised as she continued to back away. “I’ll come back.” She repeated.

Springtrap said nothing as he watched her back out of the dining room and into the hallway where she’d come from. Vanny turned and ran as fast as she could down that hall, running right past the party room where the smiling figure was. In her hurry, she didn’t notice the pair of glowing eyes. The figure watched her go, then turned back to face the monster in the dining room. The two stared at each other for a long moment before the grinning figure turned away and crept deeper inside of the party room, slipping out of sight. Springtrap let out a heavy, relieved sigh.  _ They  _ had no interest in hurting Vanny;  _ they  _ had merely been curious and nosey. It was almost like they were a child…. Springtrap felt himself grinning at that thought before he turned away and headed in the opposite direction; he preferred to avoid his ...roommate.

Vanny ran as fast as her aching legs could carry her. Her head was buzzing with thousands of thoughts and her stomach felt full to bursting. Butterflies fluttered about inside of her entire body.

She had found him. William had been right here all these years… There would be time to beat herself up later over not having torn the place apart to find a hidden animatronic that she didn’t even know existed. Vanny slipped into the party room where she had left her mask. It was exactly where she had placed it. The rabbit face was grinning, almost wider than she was.

Vanny grabbed ahold of her mask and took care to not get blood on the fur. It was slipped on her face, and then she slipped out into the hall. There was a distant sound of something further ahead, but ahead was the only accessible exit. She would have to sneak out and run for it, no doubt. If she was lucky, she wouldn’t be seen. As the woman silently crept down the decaying halls, the feeling of being watched became unbearably intense. There  _ were _ cameras all throughout the building, but she hadn’t felt like this before now. Vanny looked over her shoulder briefly; wondering if William had been following her. She was a little upset to see that, no, he was nowhere in sight. There was another shuffling noise, and Vanny realized that the sound was right above her. Her eyes widened in panic and she threw her head back.

Many rows of teeth greeted her; all of them were sharp as razors. Vanny’s eyes frantically scanned the tangled mess of robotic parts and wires in an attempt to figure out what in the fuck it was. It looked like a fox of some sort, but it was so decayed and filthy that Vanny wasn’t able to tell what model it was. The robot clinging to the ceiling had a second head that was staring down at her with a singular eye. At least the smaller head’s teeth weren’t as sharp as their companion’s. Vanny finally locked eyes with the fox; it, just like Springtrap, had bright white pupils and blackened sockets. Wasn’t there only supposed to be one animatronic here?

Before Vanny had much time to question anything more, the vixen’s jaw dropped open and filled the hallway with a loud, horrible scream. It was nearly deafening and sounded like a mess of garbled static and screeching. Vanny lifted her hands up to cover her ears with a wince. 

She was nearly at the door. If she could get around this corner, it would be a straight shot down the hall that allowed her to peer into the office. The noise that the fox was making had caused her yet another problem, though. The beam of a flashlight along the walls told Vanny that the cops had most definitely heard the sound and were coming to investigate. 

_ She was so tired of running. _

Vanny turned on her heels and took off down the hall, heading back to the dining room. She had to either hide somewhere until the cops cleared out or find another exit point.

A clanging behind her let her know that she had a shadow. The mangled mess of parts was scurrying across the ceiling; screaming out their horrible call as it tailed her.

_ It was trying to get her caught. _

  
  


* * *

  
  


Springtrap’s ears perked up as the sudden noise echoed down the hall.  _ What in the hell? _

The rabbit remained perfectly still where he was standing inside of a party room. He stared out at the hallway where Vanny had gone down in silence. 

He recognized that sound; it was Mangle. 

The darkness in the hallway slowly vanished as a distant glow began to light the peeling walls. Springtrap realized that both the noise and the beam of a flashlight were coming closer. The sound of thudding boots told him that Vanny hadn’t managed to slip out undetected. He briefly wondered if the fox chasing her had something to do with that. 

Vanny rushed into the dining room and looked around in a panic. While the cops hadn’t spotted her, they were following the noise directly above her and it wouldn’t take long for them to reach her. Springtrap shot Mangle a hateful glare, then peeked his head out of the party room so that she could see him. Vanny caught sight of him immediately. The rabbit slipped back into the darkness and waited for her to follow him. Vanny sucked in a small breath and bounded across the tiled floor with the fox crawling above her. When Vanny ran into the room, she accidentally bumped into the rabbit in her haste. He didn’t seem to mind, though; he didn’t even budge. His eyes drifted down to her with a blank expression before looking back up at the vixen clinging to the cracked ceiling. The mangled beast halted at the doorway and stared inside. They looked as if they wanted to go in, but something was preventing them from doing so. Springtrap let out a low growl, warning them to back off. The fox crawled back and forth across the ceiling for a moment, contemplating whether or not to enter before giving up and crawling away. The noise coming from their throat stopped, and a silence fell over the pizzeria.

Vanny clung to Springtrap as she sucked in quick breaths. She had gotten… a little out of shape. The rabbit above her used one of his better fingers to brush the fur on the cheek of her mask before she pulled it off to breathe better. Sweat had gathered on her forehead and her hands were clammy and felt disgusting. She was going to need to bathe when she got home...

“You’ve been taking care of our suits, I assume?” Springtrap asked in a low, fond voice as he paced through the darkness and over to a wall. He bent down and pulled the cover off of a large vent effortlessly. It appeared as if the cover hadn’t even been screwed on. Vanny clutched onto her mask as she followed behind him, still winded and sucking in deep breaths as her heart pounded away in her chest. “Of course.” She panted out without hesitation. 

Would he even be able to wear his suit anymore? Did he even have any desire to do so?

Vanny didn’t have the time to ask how he was living inside of this rabbit suit or what the events were of that night when he left her eight years ago. He had a lot of explaining to do when they got home. Springtrap gestured to the vent, then gave Vanny a wide, toothy grin.

“I hope you haven’t grown to be claustrophobic.” He teased. While Vanny didn’t have an issue with tight spaces, she was hesitant to crawl inside of those old, filthy vents.

“Is it safe?” She asked.

“Would I be having you crawl inside if it wasn’t?” Came the rabbit’s reply. Vanny nodded and lowered herself to her knees. The glow of the flashlight was in the dining room, now. They needed to hurry. Springtrap grabbed ahold of the woman’s chin as gently as he could manage and stared into her eyes. Vanny felt her heart flutter as she stared into those artificial glowing pupils. They weren’t the eyes she had fallen in love with, but that didn’t matter.

“Keep crawling until you come across a turn,” He began in a hushed voice. “Then keep crawling straight. Ignore the next opening and then crawl until you reach another turn. That will spit you out by the back door.”

Vanny gave him a small nod before slipping out of his hand.

“I will be here, Vanessa.” He promised her. “ _ Come back to me. _ ” It sort of sounded like a plea; he sounded as if he were begging her to come back for him. Vanny had no intention of leaving him here to rot any longer than he already had. He pushed her into the vent, then put the cover back over it. He listened and stood still as Vanny shuffled further into the vents. She would be fine.

The flashlight shone into the party room and Springtrap realized that for once he could face the cops with no fear of being arrested or charged for his crimes. 

With shaky, barely functioning legs, Springtrap stood to his full height. He raised his good ear up just to make himself look a little taller and more intimidating. He had no intention of killing the cops; he just wanted to scare them. That was what he had been drug out of the safe room to do, wasn’t it? The owner wanted him to scare people; he was just an old, lifeless robot after all.

“ _ What in the fuck- _ ” Came a frightened voice from the dining room. Two pairs of flashlights fell onto Springtrap as he stood, watching the cops in silence. He kept his jaw shut tight, though. Nobody needed to see the remnants of his past life.

Once the rabbit’s vision cleared back up after being blinded by the flashlight, he was met with two familiar faces and one he didn’t recognize. The security guard was with the cops, all three of which looked petrified. There was some new cop that he had never seen around, and then there was Clay. Springtrap’s eyes locked onto the Chief silently. The robot towered over the man, and even though he didn’t speak or show any signs of aggression, he could easily tell that Clay was petrified. Both officers took cautious steps away from the rabbit.

The guard seemed on edge most of all. The young man trembled nervously as he wrang his hands together. His eyes were darting all around; it was clear that he was trying to avoid eye contact with the beast that roamed these halls. 

“This is the one you found? The robot?” Clay asked the guard with a curious glance over his shoulder. The blonde man gave a quick, affirmative nod. 

“It’s creepy as fuck.” The guard stated the obvious with a fearful shiver. “It fucking walks around all night, too. Makes… creepy ass noises.”

Clay’s eyes slowly drifted back to Springtrap, then shone his flashlight lower to inspect the animatronic’s chest. There was some sort of red liquid smeared across its dingy fur, and Clay had a pretty decent idea of what it was. Clay moved forward to inspect the red smear hesitantly.

Both the guard and the other officer stayed behind him; neither of them wanted to get closer to that thing. Before Clay could touch the rabbit, however, the sound of several mechanical snaps echoed throughout the room. The sound got all three men to stagger away from the robot. It sounded as if dozens of mousetraps went off all at once.

The guard lifted a hand to his chest; it was a miracle that he hadn’t had a heart attack.

“The stupid thing is always making those noises,” The guard quickly informed the cops. Clay, despite having been startled, still eyed the animatronic suspiciously.

“That looks like blood on its chest.” Clay pointed out with another glance over to the guard.

“Probably from a rat,” The blonde shrugged sheepishly. “They’re always crawling inside of it and then get cut up trying to get out.”

Clay gave the robot one more once-over before leaving the room completely.

“And you’re sure that’s not what you saw on the cameras?” He asked.

The guard shook his head immediately. “No, no way. It was much shorter and was white and brown.” Springtrap watched the tree walk off silently. Despite the fact that Clay’s bullets couldn’t put him down, he still wasn’t going to go after the Chief. Aside from tormenting the guard, he had shown absolutely no signs of being violent. Rousing anyone’s suspicions that he was anything more than a decaying, moldy fursuit wasn’t the best course of action. Vanny would be back to bring him home soon, anyway. His tail wagged softly purely out of reflex at the thought of her. With a weary huff, the rabbit crept into the corner and made himself comfortable as his mind wandered; imagining what returning home would be like, what Vanny had been up to, and of course, how she was going to get him out of here. They had no way to communicate, so he would have to figure out how to help her blindly. As the voices of Clay and the others drifted away, he felt himself growing sleepy. He wished that Vanny were there for him to hold.

* * *

Vanny’s boots made the gravel under her feet crunch as she ran through the parking lot. 

She hadn’t encountered the guard, the cops or the fox on her way out. Now she was home free, but she hadn’t succeeded in bringing the robot home that night. She had found William, though. After all these years, he had held her and called her  _ ‘Darling _ .’ She felt emotions she hadn’t been able to cling to for years. She felt excited, and she felt… happy. Vanny let out a genuine giggle as she rushed past the cop car that was sitting empty in the parking lot. Her aching legs carried her to William’s car. Her eyes drifted down to her bootprints in the mud. Only her prints were there; the cops hadn’t found the car. Vanny pulled the door open and got inside; her heart was beating a mile a minute and her hands trembled as she started the car. It only took her a few moments to back out and pull back onto the main road, and then she was gone.

* * *

  
  
  


“The cameras don’t record?” Clay asked with a somewhat annoyed sigh. The guard shook his head and gave the chief an apologetic look.

“They only display what’s going on right now. I have no way of showing you what I saw.”

Clay rubbed a hand over his face and nodded. “Alright, alright. Just… if you see anything else, let us know, will you?” The guard agreed with a quick nod. Clay turned to leave the office but then turned back around. “And you’re sure that thing’s not dangerous?” The fact that they had an actual animatronic wandering the premises made Clay uneasy. He was well aware of what had gone down here, and he had felt sick upon returning. He could still see exactly where the blood had been pooled upon his first visit… _ Hell…  _ The faces of those crying parents still came to him in his nightmares. He was often kept up with nightmares about robots with too many teeth, ripping apart the ones he loved without mercy or care for human life.

“Springtrap may be creepy, but it’s not dangerous.” Came the guard’s reply.

Clay quirked a brow questioningly. Springtrap? He’d never heard of such a robot.

“Is that what you guys named it? That looked like a Bonnie model if anything.” Once again, the guard shook his head in the negative.

“That’s what the name it was programmed with, apparently. The dayshift guys that found it got it to answer like one of their questions. They asked it what its name was-”

“-and it said, ‘Springtrap?’” Clay finished the smaller man’s sentence. 

“That’s what they’re saying, at least. We haven’t really gotten it to talk since.”

Clay stood in the office for a long moment before turning away.

“Just keep the doors locked, kid. Call us if you need to.”


	6. Sweetheart

Upon arriving home, Vanny had struggled to fall asleep. Her mind was buzzing and despite the soreness in her legs, she wanted to move around and burn off some energy. She was exhausted yet hyper at the same time. Her body was spent, but her mind insisted on fighting sleep. Sleep was important, though, and she needed it to properly execute her plan. Vanny tossed and turned in bed, hiding under the blanket in different positions in a futile attempt to knock herself out. The bed was too cold, though, and then it was too hot. Vanny looked over to the vacant pillow beside her own. She smiled, then. Her bed wouldn’t be empty for much longer, and she’d have someone to snuggle up to once again. Vanny laid on her stomach and slid one of her arms under her pillow to prop it up just a little better. She fell asleep like that; smiling and basking in the moonlight that shone in from the drawn curtains. William was safe...

  
  
  


The morning came and reared its ugly head, insisting that she get up early with shining rays of sunlight that came in through her window. Vanny refused, though. She was exhausted and couldn’t even head to Fazbear Frights until dark, so she saw no reason not to sleep in. Once the morning became mid-afternoon, Vanny pulled herself out of bed with a groggy yawn. The night before seemed like an odd, distant memory. Vanny knew it was real, though. The horrible gashes on her face reminded her of that. When she trudged into the bathroom, she stared at her face for a long moment. They most likely needed stitches, but explaining to a doctor that her homicidal boyfriend accidentally cut her face with his razor-sharp claws didn’t sound too promising. Vanny preferred to stay out of a mental hospital. The wound had been cleaned as soon as she got home, but Vanny didn’t feel like it could go without more attention for much longer. With a brave intake of breath, she decided that she’d give herself stitches after breakfast…  _ er…  _ lunch.

Vanny made herself a piece of toast and devoured two apples before deciding she was full.

Would William even be able to eat, anymore? Vanny looked towards their dirty coffee pot before letting out a tired huff. She could ask him later, she supposed. He  _ was  _ coming home tonight.

Vanny was very intelligent; she was very good at lying and deceiving those around her. She was excellent at helping William plan horrible, sickening things and she had been exceedingly good at being patient. Eight years was no laughing feat, and Vanny had decided that she had waited long enough. She was going to get William back tonight, no matter how stupid it was. The place was on high alert now, but Vanny wasn’t going to spend another moment away from him. 

That rabbit was coming home whether she had to sneak in or set the place on fire. Clay could burn with it if he liked. The badge-kisser needed to stay out of her hair for a while, and her plan tonight relied heavily on not getting detained and going to jail. 

Vanny made her way into the bathroom and hopped up on the counter to sit, clutching a needle in her cold fingers. First, she needed to stitch herself up. She would fix William when he got home, too. Vanny had a feeling that she’d be doing a lot of stitching over the next couple of days.

The afternoon stretched into evening, and as the sky glowed faint pinks and purples as the sun departed for the night, Vanny loaded the last of her things into the car. She wasn’t going unprepared, this time. As Vanny shut the trunk that had seen its fair share of questionable things, she took in a deep breath of the fresh air. It was much favorable to the air she’d be breathing while getting William out of his decaying prison. Spring was showing its presence, she realized with a quick glance at a patch of budding flowers. Vanny stared at them for a minute before picking one of the Coral bells. She selected the stem with the most flowers, then twirled it in her fingers fondly. The pink stood out against the darkening sky, and the darkness let Vanny know that it was time to go. 

* * *

The drive felt eternal this time around, but Vanny knew that she was just being eager and impatient. Tonight would be the first time in years that she would be held at night; she would feel safe and wouldn’t need to worry about the nightmares that had haunted her for so long.

Her worries about William would be put to rest, and he’d be back home with her where he belonged. She felt a small shiver of excitement at the notion of being held again. Even though William’s body wasn’t the same, she didn’t care. He was hers no matter what.

William had a lot of hours of binging his shows he’d missed out on to do. Vanny had kept them all just for him; she knew he’d want to get caught up when he came back to her.

When Vanny finally pulled into the parking lot, that same brown vehicle from the night prior greeted her. It was in the same spot; parked beneath the single overhead light. 

Sneaking in and out was an option, but Vanny intended to put what she had brought along to good use. With a devious little smile, the woman silently pulled the car into the same spot she had the night before. Her boots once again left imprints in the mud as she made her way to the trunk. Vanny let out a little hum as she leaned forward and snatched a sizeable box out of the trunk. The hood was left open carelessly; she could close it on her way out after she had gotten William. This would be quick, and if luck was really on her side, it would be near-flawless.

Vanny made her way across the parking lot with a bounce in her step. It took a lot of self-control for her to not sing on her way to the edge of the parking lot. She passed the dingy, rusting brown car on her way to the opposite end of the lot. She needed to set her lovely little box away from the building; catching the pizzeria on fire wasn’t her intent. Once she had reached the edge of the lot, Vanny carefully bent down and set the cardboard box onto the slightly damp asphalt. The flaps of the box were pulled open, and Vanny was greeted by her mask. The rabbit was smiling up at her; it was clearly happy to help her!

Vanny giggled as she took her mask in her cold hands and slipped it on over her face.

The night air was chilly, but she had worn jeans this time around so the cold air didn’t make her shiver. Clouds covered the sky, preventing any trace of moonlight from giving her a helping hand in her plan. The darkness could come in handy, though. It certainly made it much harder to be spotted. Vanny took a green lighter out of her pocket and then leaned down to the large box. Her axe was peeking out at her, promising her silently that if she took it in her hand that it would serve her well. It had never failed her before. 

Vanny grabbed ahold of the handle and pulled it out of the box, leaving only one thing inside of the box; several fireworks. Vanny would have to light them and then run for it. She sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled. As quick as she could, Vanny lit the wick of the canon and then took off. The sound of her pounding heart filled her ears as she sprinted to the back door of the pizzeria. Once she had reached the building, she put her hands out on the wall to catch herself as she sucked in deep breaths. The sound of the first firework shooting out filled the parking lot; screaming as the flickering green ball shot up into the sky before exploding. Vanny hurriedly slipped behind the building and hid right around the corner. It only took a moment for more of the fireworks to go off, screaming into the night before exploding in blinding displays of bright colors. Another series of loud cracks and explosions filled the lot as the firecrackers placed at the bottom of the box began to go off. If the guard didn’t hear this, then she would have to consider driving her axe into his stomach. It only took about thirty seconds for the guard to come rushing out the back door, though. The man had a panicked look on his face and he quickly made his way closer to the fireworks to investigate. Vanny watched him rush away from the building from where she was, safely tucked behind the corner. Once she was sure that he was far enough away, she slipped out and kept close to the wall. The metal door was still slowly closing, so Vanny took the opportunity and slipped inside of the pizzeria. When the door fell shut, the building was still and lifeless. The halls seemed empty and lonely, yet something made Vanny want to stay there.

Despite only having been through these halls one other time, they felt oddly familiar to her. They felt like a home that she had always known and one that she was safe in. Her mind felt heavy, and with a small shudder, Vanny broke out of whatever trance-like state she had been slipping into. The mold must have been getting to her head. 

The feeling she had just fought off reminded her of when she was wrapped in a warm bed with another body pressed up against hers and the urge to give in to sleep was strong, but Vanny had managed to fight against falling asleep. She wondered if she had somehow been on the verge of passing out. She shook off the uncomfortable feeling creeping through her body. 

“William!” She screamed down the halls and she continued on, tracking mud all over the already dirty floors. “Come on!” 

The pizzeria was a dark, horrible place. She was barely able to see as she made her way through the halls. Somehow, it seemed even darker tonight than it had last night.

“William,” She hissed out again in a quieter voice. She had no idea where that fox was, and having it maul her to death wasn’t something she wanted to experience. 

As she continued to creep deeper into the building, a faint noise from behind her caught her attention. “William?” She called out softly as she spun around.  _ There he was. _

That rabbit stood in the hallway, staring the woman down like a scrap of meat. He was silent as she approached with a fond smile, safely hidden under her mask... She bounced over to him, prepared to hug him as she propped her axe against the wall.

“Why are you here?” He asked in a low tone. Vanny froze. He sounded angry. She shook her head in confusion. Didn’t he want her to come back? He had asked her the night before to come back for him, and that was precisely what she had done. She always did what he asked. 

Vanny trembled a little and a lump formed in her throat. She just wanted to make him happy. She just wanted to bring him home. The rabbit took a step forward and stared at her mask with great interest. He raised his arms and gently traced his fingers across the fur of the mask.

“You are just like  _ me, _ are you not?” Springtrap asked softly. Vanny remained silent. She had no idea how to respond to that. Sure, she and William shared many common interests, some of which being not so legal or humane, but they were different people. 

“We hide behind masks,” Springtrap continued. “And you know of what I did here…”

Vanny blinked. “Of course I do… You’ve… told me.” She muttered.

It stared at her. It stared with a blank expression and then cocked its head sideways in a curious manner. It ran its hands across her mask’s face, feeling it with care.

“And you do not hold this against me? What I have done? The sins I have committed?”

Normally, Vanny would have leaned into the caressing touches that William gave her, but something was… different. He was speaking in an odd way, and it almost seemed as if he were in a trance-like state. Vanny didn’t dare speak her mind, though. She remained silent and still.

“Answer me, Vinny.” It whispered in a sickly sweet voice.

Vanny tensed, then. “What sins have you committed, William?” She asked.

The rabbit cocked his head in the opposite direction, then blinked.

“I took the lives of many, my sweet. Many squirming, defenseless souls. Did you know this?”

_ My sweet? _ Vanny’s heart was racing now as panic set in. Something was terribly wrong.

“You are scared.” The rabbit stated calmly. “Why do you fear me?”

Vanny sucked in an unsteady breath. “I…” she wasn’t able to form words.

“You are just like me, are you not? We feed on the weak, and you are a leech at my side. You enjoy our games, and you cling to me like a scared child. Are you always scared, Vinny? As you are scared now?” With a small hum, the rabbit turned her head gently in order to examine the side of her mask. Vanny allowed it, but she was stiff and fearful.

“You won’t speak with me as much as you did last night. Why?” It questioned.

“I missed you-” Vanny blurted out suddenly. “And I wanted to talk to you-”

“And why do you not talk now? Why do you fear me?” It interjected softly.

Vanny fell silent. Her legs shook, then, giving away her fear to the creature.

“You do not fear me. You fear what I am not.” It hissed out suddenly. The rabbit’s voice twisted into one that she couldn’t even begin to recognize. It was a low, gravelly hiss.

“ **_You fear that I don’t love you. Vinny. Sweetheart, I never did._ ** ”

  
  


“Vanny!!” 

Vanny spun around and stared down at the opposite end of the hall. There, peeking out of the dining room was Springtrap. The woman blinked and stared at the rabbit as he stared right back; his eyes were wide and petrified. If William was there, then who had been talking to her? Vanny turned back to face the thing in front of her. The fluffy, dingy yellow fur had vanished. A shiny smooth black now greeted her. The figure was tall and petite with blindingly white stripes wrapped around their arms and legs. They stood nearly as tall as the ceiling; easily towering over both Vanny and Springtrap.

Purple streaks stretched down from its dark, hollow eyes, and rosy cheeks accompanied their wide smile. It stared down at Vanny as two white pupils fizzled into existence in their sockets.

Vanny took an understandable fearful step back, attempting to distance herself from the doll.

“ _ You cannot leave us, _ ” It informed Springtrap as its eyes fell upon him. The doll now spoke in a soft, childlike voice. It sounded like a little girl. Vanny took several more steps away from it.

The Puppet allowed her to distance herself; it had no quarrel with her. It had no vendetta against her. It knew not of the lives she’d stolen away. Vanny wanted to go for her axe, but it was far too close to the thing. Going for a weapon wasn’t the best idea especially when she had no idea what this thing was or what its capabilities were.

“You’re not going to stop me.” Springtrap snapped right back. His fear of the figure dissolved away at that moment, and he took a brave step out into the hallway. Vanny hurried behind the rabbit, attempting to shield herself from the doll. Springtrap made sure that she was behind him and held her back protectively with his arm. The Puppet cocked its head sideways.

“ _ You will stay with us, William. _ ” It informed him once again in the little girl’s voice.

“ _ Go to hell, _ ” Springtrap growled. 

“Not without you.” The doll shot back. 

A giggle echoed throughout the hall, then. Vanny jolted and jumped when she realized that it came from directly beside her. Vanny stared down at a small figure standing in the doorway of the dining room that only reached up to her hips. It was a little girl, or it at least looked like one. Her flesh was pale and decaying which left many of her bones exposed. Her nose had completely rotted away and her cheeks had been torn open, revealing her yellow, broken teeth. Vanny scrambled away from the figure with tears in her eyes. She just wanted to go home. This all had to be some kind of terrible dream. Springtrap glanced back at the phantom; he knew that it wasn’t real, but Vanny didn’t. They weren’t physical beings, anymore. Not all of them.   
“They’re not real, Vanny. They’re not real,” Springtrap hissed out to her. Vanny screwed her eyes shut but nodded, letting William know that she had heard him. Real or not, that wasn’t something she wanted to stare at. She had a distinct feeling that she would have a new thing to have nightmares about from now on.

“ _ Oh, we are very real. _ ” The doll assured Vanny in a soft voice. “ _ We will allow you to leave, _ ”

It continued, now directing its gaze toward Vanny. The woman opened her eyes and stared at the doll. She had no idea what it even was, but it obviously had something against William.

“I’m not leaving without him.” Vanny shakily declared as she took a step towards Springtrap. She clung to his arm with shaking hands as she did her best to ignore the phantom child that was still grinning at her. It took loud raspy breaths as blood ran down from its slit throat.

Springtrap glanced back at Vanny with an unreadable expression.

“ _ Fine. _ ” The Puppet said simply. “ _ Then let the sinner burn with his fool. _ ”

_ Burn? _

Vanny turned back to stare at the child in the doorway. Several other decaying faces now accompanied the girl; it was a crowd of dead, rotting children. These were William’s victims, she realized. They were still here. Vanny had no idea how to feel about any of this; a more rational part of her wanted to run out of the building with William and never come back, but another part of her felt something odd. Killing was supposed to bring temporary pain to the victim, and then sleep would greet them. These children weren’t asleep. They were still clinging to this world, they refused to die. When Vanny killed, she killed with the intent of putting her victim down once. For one reason or another, William’s victims had refused to die. Vanny stared at the children for a long moment, it was a horrid sight, but she was unable to look away. One of them held up a green object and waved it around proudly as if it was teasing her. Vanny’s heart sank as she realized it was her lighter. A quick, panicked patting of her pockets confirmed that it _ was _ hers.

“ _ Will… _ ” She hissed out in a whisper. Springtrap glanced back at her once again and followed her gaze to the children. He caught sight of the lighter almost instantly.

“ _ This place is quite a fire hazard, _ ” The Puppet spoke up. “And I’m afraid that it’s time to take advantage of that.” Springtrap ripped his gaze away from the lighter in a panic. He turned to Vanny with a serious look in his eyes.

“ _ You need to run, _ ” He growled out in a voice much deeper than normal. Vanny clung to him defiantly, shaking her head in the negative. She lifted her mask up so that she could properly gaze at him. “I’ve spent eight years looking for you, William. I’m not leaving you now.”

Springtrap stared at her then; there was a long moment of silence as they gazed into each other's eyes. Vanny looked desperate while Springtrap simply looked sad.

The sound of the lighter caught the rabbit’s attention, and he perked his ears up. The child was holding the lighter with a wicked grin plastered to their face as the small flame flickered.

“And you’d kill an innocent?” Springtrap questioned the Puppet with a nasty glare.

The doll seemed taken back by that. The rabbit let out a mechanical chuckle as his voice box glitched and skipped. He yanked his arm away from Vanny and took another step towards the doll. He gave them a cocky grin and tipped his nose up to them.

“Does that make you any better than me?” He asked.

Vanny remained where she had been abandoned in the hallway, curling in on herself as she slipped her mask back on. She wanted to deny her innocence and inform these creatures that she was guilty of murder as well, but she trusted William. He was clearly planning something and she wasn’t going to ruin it.

The Puppet peered around Springtrap and stared at Vanny for a long moment.

“ _ Remove her. _ ” They commanded. Vanny had no time to react before one of the ghost children lunged forward. Their skin dissolved away as they took on a new shape; their arms stretched and contorted into mechanical ones and a horrible screech filled the hallway as they transformed into the fox from the night before. The vixen grabbed Vanny in their jaws by the back of her coat, then scaled up to the ceiling. They quickly scurried down the hallway, carrying Vanny away from both the Puppet and Springtrap. Vanny squirmed and protested, attempting to free herself from Mangle’s jaws.

“William!” She screamed out desperately, extending a hand out to him. Springtrap silently watched as she was carried away without a word. The last thing Vanny saw before she was carried around a corner was the ghost children creeping closer to the rabbit as the wall began to glow. They had set a fire.

  
  


Mangle scurried across the ceiling and walls of the pizzeria, diligently following Puppet’s orders of evicting Vanny from the building. Vanny glared up at the vixen.

“I’ve killed too, you know,” Vanny informed the fox with the hope that they would drop her.

The fox’s singular yellow eye drifted down to stare at Vanny. A mechanical voice rolled out of their throat as the screeching noise they had been making died away. It was horribly distorted and choppy, but Vanny could understand it. “ _ And so have I. _ ” The fox admitted. They were silent for the rest of the trip to the back door. Vanny realized that the fox was going to toss her outside. She needed to get back to William, though. She needed to bring him home. Mangle dropped Vanny, then. The woman fell onto her ass with a thud, then the door was pulled open.

“Let me go back,” Vanny pleaded as she looked up at the tangled, mangled mess of wires and parts. The fox ignored her pleas and shoved her out the door and onto the asphalt.

“Go home, killer. Let us have our fun.” Mangle hissed out before slamming the door.

Vanny winced and stared at her scraped up hands. She didn’t have time for this. One quick glance around the parking lot told her that the guard had fled for one reason or another. His car was gone from the lot, leaving it a lonely, empty place. Vanny pushed herself to her knees and then stood to her feet, ignoring the way her skin stung as best she could. 

Vanny grabbed at the key around her neck that had been tucked into her shirt, only to find that it was gone. She sucked in a panicked breath as she felt around her neck for the lanyard that was no longer there. The fox must have ripped it off, intentionally or not. Her axe was still inside, leaving her with nothing to break down the door with. Vanny pulled, twisted and rammed into the door to no avail. She kicked and screamed, screaming out for William. Nobody came to let her in. She needed to find another entry point and fast.

  
  


* * *

Springtrap squirmed and hissed out as the phantoms clung to him, attempting to drag him into the dining room that was quickly becoming engulfed in flames. The Puppet watched silently as the phantoms morphed and shifted into the animatronic forms that they had taken for years. They all clawed and snapped at Springtrap, hissing and growling like animals.

While they could inflict no real damage to him, they could move him, and the fire they were moving him into could do the damage for them. Springtrap fought and hissed, pulling away from them as best he could. “ _ Give in. _ ” Puppet said softly. “ _ Fire will be all you know, soon. Doesn’t it feel nice and warm? Doesn’t it make you want to go to sleep?”  _ Springtrap hissed out and lunged forward, breaking away from quite a few of the phantoms. He lunged towards Puppet with his claws extended, ready to slash them across their face. Puppet spun away, and after a quick swing, Springtrap let out a loud, pained gasp. Vanny’s axe was now embedded into his chest. The rabbit fell to the floor, trembling and gasping for air he didn’t need.

“ _ Give in, William. _ ” Puppet repeated. “ _ Let us all rest. _ ”

The phantoms began murmuring and chattering amongst themselves as they grabbed at Springtrap’s legs and pulled him further into the dining room. Springtrap’s claws dug into the tile, causing a horrible screech as he attempted to anchor himself to the floor.

“You know you won’t be remembered,  _ Charlie _ .” He growled. “Your father won’t remember you.”

The Puppet stared at him for a long moment, silent and still. She looked surprised and taken back but otherwise, she did nothing and didn’t speak a word. Springtrap trembled as he used one of his hands to pull the axe out of his chest. Oil oozed out onto the tile below him as he clutched onto the handle that Vanny had held hundreds of times before.

“He replaced you,” Springtrap continued. “You’re replaceable. You’re dead to him, Charlie.”

The Puppet didn’t speak as the others continued to drag Springtrap away.

“He adopted another little girl, Charlie. He named her after you. Because you’re replaceable. Just like a robot; just like a goldfish. You were nothing that he couldn’t find a replacement for.”

He lost his grip on the floor, then, and he was drug into the blazing room, leaving The Puppet to her emotions in the hallway. A small tear rolled down her face, and she shook.

* * *

Vanny had circled the building three times now. She was desperately looking for some way to get inside, but every possible opening had been boarded up. The fire was now becoming visible from the outside, and Vanny realized with a sickening sense of dread that if she didn’t hurry, she was going to lose William again. He was going to burn up, leaving her alone for the rest of her miserable life. Smoke was now pouring out of the building, and Vanny knew that if she was inside she wouldn’t be able to breathe for very long. If only she had something to break in with.

Vanny took a step away from the pizzeria as her eyes widened. She looked back at the treeline where the car was.

* * *

Springtrap struggled and kicked against his attackers as they drug him into the back room beside the stage. It was small and perfect for locking him in, so that’s what they did. Springtrap pounded and clawed at the metal door desperately, trying to break out as the flames began to creep inside. One of the phantoms had stolen away the axe from him, so he only had his bare hands to use in an effort to save himself. He left deep, horrible scratches on the metal door, but it refused to open for him. Despite knowing that there was little point in attempting to break down the door, giving up was never an option for him. He had to continue to struggle, he had to fight for Vanny. She had waited for him, so now he was going to fight for her.

The phantoms gathered uncertainly in the dining room, looking around at the damage that they had caused. The building was burning because of them, and they’d burn along with their killer.

Puppet crept into the dining room, calling her friends away to a more comfortable place to go to sleep. Their forms shifted and contorted back to that of decaying children as they hurried over to their guardian. Some took ahold of her hand as she led them away to the prettiest party room there was. There was no need to linger around and listen to the beast struggle. Their final moments would be spent with each other, peacefully embracing sleep as the flames licked at what remained of their prisons. Puppet felt a few tears slip down her face as she led each and every lost soul deeper into the pizzeria and away from the one who had caused all of this.

It was time to sleep; it was their happiest day at last. 

* * *

Vanny gripped onto the steering wheel tight, taking in a shaky breath. This would no doubt ruin William’s car, but when it came down to his life or one of his possessions, Vanny knew which one she was going to choose. There was no time to stall; there was no time to second guess this. With one good stomp on the gas pedal, Vanny braced for impact as she sped through the parking lot towards the boarded front doors. Boards broke and the glass shattered as the purple car crashed through the old glass doors. Instinctively, the woman tensed and curled in on herself, shutting her eyes tight until the car came to a stop. The impact made Vanny ache and her vision swim as she opened her eyes. Everything was hot and bright and it made Vanny want to cry. The stage had stopped the car in its tracks and Vanny wearily realized that the crash could have been a lot worse. She fought against her shock from the crash and hurriedly undid her seatbelt. There was nothing of value in the car, she didn’t care if it burned. She just wanted- “ _ Will.. _ ” She rasped out breathlessly. The door was pushed open and Vanny fell out onto the checkered floor, knocking what little wind remained in her lungs out of her. Her vision blurred and her ears rung as she pushed herself to her knees, then found her way to her feet. She was dizzy and found herself stumbling around. She avoided chairs and tables that had already been swallowed up by the flames as she walked aimlessly through the dining room.

Where was he?

The sound of metal scraping against metal caught her attention over the roar of the flames. Vanny stumbled over to the door beside the stage and coughed as she sucked smoke into her lungs. “William?” She called out. The scaping noise halted and she heard that beautiful British voice in its place. “Vanny! What are you-”

Vanny looked down at the door handle, then around the room. She had to get him out. The door was obviously locked. She could hear him talking, but she couldn’t understand him. The sound of his voice comforted her, though, and despite the way her entire being burned from being so close to the fire, she refused to leave. Vanny turned and looked over along one of the walls where her axe lay, barely a few inches apart from the growing fire. Shoving common sense and reason aside, Vanny ran over and grabbed it by the wooden handle. It was warm, but it didn’t burn. 

It was a miracle that it hadn’t caught on fire.

“William-” She coughed out as she stumbled back over to the door. “Stand- stand back…”

Inside of the back room, Springtrap took several steps back. He was glad that Vanny had somehow come back for him, but the loud crash he’d heard and her obvious struggle to speak were concerning him. She was relentless and reckless, but he couldn’t hold it against her as much as he wanted to. “Vanny, hurry.” He pleaded in a shaky voice.

Vanny raised her axe up and swung it down on the handle one, two, three times.

It busted off, rolling across the floor and into the blaze. Vanny fell to the ground as the door swung open. Springtrap stared down in horror at Vanny at his feet. She was bleeding and the smoke was no doubt suffocating her. The rabbit hurriedly bent down and scooped her into his arms. She was limp, and if Springtrap couldn’t feel her heart beating in her chest, he would have assumed she was dead. The animatronic cradled her in his arms against his chest, keeping her close and safe. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you…” He whispered to her. Springtrap hurriedly grabbed ahold of her axe and began maneuvering through the fire towards the gaping hole in the front of the building that used to be the front doors. The rabbit glanced over at his car that was burning up, but he felt nothing towards the vehicle. The only thing that he wanted to save was in his arms, unconscious and weak. He held Vanny a little tighter and stepped over several chairs that the car had scattered across the room. He made sure not to get Vanny or himself too close to the fire. The animatronic glanced down at Vanny and realized that she was struggling to breathe. He needed to get her into some breathable air. When he reached the doors, the night air greeted him with a chilly breeze. It was chill and calm, unlike the inferno he was leaving behind. The sound of sirens filled the night air, and Springtrap caught sight of flashing red and blue lights coming down the road. He paid them no mind as he made his way through the parking lot, limping as he drug his lover’s axe behind him. He was strong enough to carry her in only one of his arms; this body wasn’t so terrible after all. 

Clay stared in bewilderment at the sight ahead of him. Two, white glowing eyes stared into his headlights. Behind the figure, Fazbear’s Fright was burning to the ground as its main attraction wandered away, clutching what appeared to be a woman against his chest and firmly clutching onto an axe in his free hand. Clay didn’t have time to react or even park before the figure slipped into the woods, wandering into the night. Once Springtrap felt that he was at a safe distance away, he stopped for a brief moment to pull Vanny’s mask off. He stared down at her with a soft gaze. He felt a horrible wave of guilt wash over him at the sight of her stitches, but as she sucked in soft breaths he relaxed, assured that she was going to be okay. Springtrap leaned down, placing his muzzle against Vanny’s forehead in a makeshift kiss. 

They were going home.


	7. Mangos and Tar

Sunlight bled in through the window, warming Vanny’s skin that wasn’t covered by her soft blue blanket. Her chest felt oddly heavy, and breathing felt a little more strenuous than normal. It took her a moment to realize that there was something  _ on _ her chest. Vanny’s eyes shot open in a panic. She stared down at the heavy object that was wrapped around her chest. It was yellow and dingy… and furry. She sucked in a breath and turned her head to stare at the figure beside her. There, in the bed, lay the giant yellow rabbit. His eyelids were shut and his ear was limp as he sucked in soft, gentle breaths that he didn’t actually need to take. Ash was now mixed with the other filth in his fur, and it made Vanny wince. She was going to need to clean the bed. 

As quietly as she could, Vanny rolled off of her back and onto her side so that she could face him. The rabbit’s eyes opened slowly as she placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

She stared into those white pupils with a loving smile. In the daylight, they didn’t glow. She could easily gaze into them without it wearing on her eyes, just as he could gaze into hers.

“ _ Hey… _ ” Vanny whispered out. Springtrap perked his damaged ear up slightly as a smile came to his face. For the first time in a long time, he pulled her against his chest as he stretched out his long, damaged metal legs. His entire body trembled as he stretched which made the bed shake as well. He tucked his knees closer to himself, effectively pinning Vanny’s body against his own. Vanny snuggled into his filthy fur and relaxed as he began softly petting the back of her head. They stayed like that for a while, basking in the quiet of the morning.

Vanny nearly dozed off a couple of times, but managed to stay awake. Springtrap put his chin on the top of her head as he pushed her just a little tighter against his chest. It didn’t take long before Vanny forced her way up to wrap her arms around the rabbit’s neck. He didn’t protest.

“I missed you.” Vanny whispered into his ear. The rabbit shifted and carefully sat up with his arms wrapped around her back to make sure that she didn’t fall. Vanny surrendered her hold around his neck and slowly sunk down to sit in his lap. He looked down at her with a small smirk as his hands came up to caress her face, cupping both of her cheeks in his palms.

“You look so… different.” He muttered softly. Vanny’s smile faltered ever so slightly, but the rabbit didn’t seem to notice. She lifted one of her hands up to place over his. “Is that good?” She asked in a soft, hesitant voice. Springtrap smiled and leaned forward, pressing his nose against her forehead. He nuzzled her gently, causing her to relax, then he let out a small chuckle.

“You’re still mine, you know. It doesn’t matter how time has changed you….” The rabbit pulled his muzzle away from her to look into her eyes.

“But you are still beautiful if that’s what you were asking.” Vanny gave him a relieved smile and leaned up, planting a kiss on his nose. 

“Can you still eat?” She asked as she settled back into his lap, resting her hands on her legs.

“I mean… it’s not required, but we can certainly see.” He hummed.

Springtrap playfully pushed Vanny off of his lap onto her back on the bed. Under different circumstances, and if William wasn’t a seven-foot-tall robot now, Vanny would have assumed that breakfast would be put on hold. The bedroom was filled with William’s soft chuckle as he clambered out of bed. He initially shook on his feet at first before managing to steady himself. Vanny hurriedly sat up and watched him with a sympathetic look. “You’re going to have to show me how to fix you, you know.” She said before she slid off of the bed as well, ignoring the ash and dirt that he had soiled it with. “Of course.” Came his response.

“You finally have me back and it’s not enough. You have to fix me, too.” He teased as he took a few steps towards the door. Vanny rolled her eyes and pointed to the stitches on her cheek.

“Yeah, well at least one of us cares about the other’s body.” There was no actual weight to her words; she had forgiven him as soon as she recognized him. Springtrap’s smile fell, then.

“Don’t be an ass.” He warned. “I didn’t recognize you.” 

Vanny gently took his hand in her own and began leading him into the kitchen. She was well aware that he knew where their kitchen was, but she wanted to be as close to him as possible. 

“Because I’m old and ugly, now?” She asked. Springtrap rolled his eyes and scoffed at her.

“Oh yes, you’re a hideous, decaying mess, Vannessa.” 

They walked through the hallway together; both of them seemed to be in a chipper mood.

Vanny paid very little attention to the large, muddy footprints that had been tracked through the hall and the rest of the house. She could clean it later; breakfast was more important.

When they entered the kitchen, Vanny’s fingers gently slipped out of Springtrap’s hand.

The loss of contact made both of them a little upset, but neither of them voiced their emotions.

Springtrap carefully sat down at the kitchen table, ignoring the way the chair creaked and protested under his weight. Vanny was already digging through the cabinets, trying to fish out something edible. “So… can you drink?” Vanny asked as she pulled a loaf of bread out of the cabinet. She looked back at him with a gentle smile.

“I still know how you like your coffee if you can.” Vanny wore a sleepy grin on her face, and for the first time in recent memory, she felt at peace with the world.

“I mean…” Springtrap began with an awkward rolling of his wrist. “I built this body a long time ago. It  _ can _ handle some food, but I have no way of knowing what’s operational anymore.”

“And why did you make it capable of processing food?” Vanny asked with a raised brow.

“The kids were always insistent on shoving food down the robot’s throats.” The rabbit scoffed with a distasteful shake of his head. “It obviously caused some… problems. So,” He leaned back in the chair, waving his hands around just like he used to whenever he was telling her a story or explaining something. Vanny smiled over at him as she began making their coffee.

“I decided that I might as well make mine and Henry’s job a little easier. Once the food goes in, it’s destroyed. It’s much easier to deal with than fishing out pieces of cheesy bread and pizza.”

“Drinks, too?” Vanny asked. Springtrap shot her a look between disgust and anger; he wasn’t angry with her, but the memory of what he had to clean out of his robots clearly pissed him off.

“You didn’t see the shit they’d shove in those robots, Vanny.”

With a small smile, Vanny turned her attention back to the coffee and toast.

‘Should I be glad that I didn’t?” She snickered.

“They found a dead mouse one time-” Springtrap began; his eyes widened in excitement like they always did when he got worked up. “They fucking shoved a mouse in the robot’s eye socket. It was a melted, smooshy mess by the time Henry pulled it out.”

“A mouse? In Freddy’s?” Vanny gasped sarcastically as she theatrically placed a hand over her chest in mock awe. “In such a fine, clean establishment? William,” She turned away with a shameful shake of her head. “I expected better from a man of your class.”

Vanny felt herself smiling from ear to ear as her face burned. It was like falling in love all over again. Springtrap let out a weird chuckle; it wasn’t William’s voice. It seemed like a completely synthetic noise made by a soulless machine. Vanny wearily glanced back at him but didn’t comment on it. William wasn’t … the same. She was aware that from the moment she had found him. Whatever had happened to him was beyond her, but she was going to try her best to understand. The kitchen fell quiet aside from the sound of Vanny slipping two pieces of bread in the toaster. She turned around slowly and leaned against the counter so that she could face the animatronic sitting at the table. Despite the fact that he had been in her bed last night and they had cuddled for what seemed like hours that morning, staring at him now brought her a new sense of awe. Light from the glass kitchen doors and the window near the sink allowed a generous amount of sunlight to shine in, making the rabbit’s fur seemingly glow.

His mouth was worn and torn and the fur along the edges were blackened and stained with substances that Vanny didn’t dare question. He reeked of mold and rot and other smells that the woman couldn’t put her finger on. He was disgusting and horrifying; a beast that defied both logic and death itself. She didn’t fear him, though. Hell; after she cleaned him up, she would be perfectly content with snuggling against him; not that she had objected to that this morning.

Vanny was aware that William wasn’t simply wearing a suit; he  _ was _ the suit, somehow. 

She eyed him with a soft gaze as she tried to process it all. 

“What are you?’” She finally questioned. Springtrap didn’t seem surprised or fazed by the question at all; he knew it was coming, and Vanny had every right to ask it.

“I’m an abomination,” He said sarcastically, though it wasn’t truly a lie. His playful smile melted away as a more serious look crossed his face. 

“I’m still me, Vanny. I’m just… trapped.” Vanny jolted when at the sound of the toast popping up which made the rabbit smile a little. Vanny hurriedly turned and put them onto a plate, buttering them before they cooled off too much. Despite her back being turned, Springtrap continued.

“It’s a long, hellish story.” He huffed. Vanny gave him a doubtful look; it wasn’t that she necessarily doubted that the tale was gruesome and complicated, but she could stomach it.

“Yeah, and you’ve told me plenty of long, fucked up stories.” She pointed out. 

Vanny turned and walked towards the table with a porcelain plate gently grasped in her hands. The two pieces of toast were for William, not her. She set the plate in front of him and sat in her seat, directly across from him. Springtrap eyed her, then the food, and then his gaze settled back onto her.

“Have you been living off of bread?” He questioned. Vanny narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.

“Don’t change the topic.” She demanded with just a hint of aggression in her voice.

Springtrap’s eyes shifted down to the plate of food. 

“Let’s not talk about this right now, Vanny.” Springtrap said softly. “Surely there’s cheerier topics we could discuss?” Vanny shifted in her seat. She nodded, but it was obvious that she wasn’t happy.

“Like what?” She huffed. It was rather unusual for her to get so annoyed at him, but he  _ had _ left her hanging for quite a long time. Springtrap had nosed around the house after he had put her to bed when he arrived home the previous night. Practically everything was the same; nothing had changed, nothing had really moved. Vanny had truly waited for him, keeping everything the same for his return.

“...How long have I been gone?” He asked softly. So much for cheerier topics…   
“Eight years.” She said flatly. Springtrap’s ears perked up and his eyes widened.

He had spent a good portion of that time unconscious in the safe room, so he had no perspective of time, but he had assumed it had been a while due to the suit’s withered state. 

Vanny watched as the animatronic stared at her in silence; he was clearly at a loss for words.

“Vanny…” He began softly. Vanny leaned back in her seat and nodded to the plate of food in front of him. “Just eat, Will. I don’t need your apologies. I don’t need your pity.” Even though it was definitely said with some venom, there was a hint of hurt in her voice.

Springtrap didn’t argue with her. Vanny had never acted like this towards him in the past, but time had clearly changed her, and it had hardened her. She was hurt and still didn’t have answers to the questions that she had no doubt been asking since the day he left.

He had left her that night of his own free will, though he had every intention of being back before she woke the next morning. He would explain everything in time, but for now, he just wanted to get settled back into being in a house and enjoy having someone other than lifeless endoskeletons to talk to. Springtrap carefully took a piece of toast into his hands. He made sure not to crush the fragile piece of food in his gigantic fingers; being gentle with this body wasn’t something he had practiced. The toast made its way into his jaws in one piece, though; he shoved the entire thing in his mouth. Vanny raised a brow inquisitively as he chewed on it. There was a pause, and then he huffed. “I can’t taste anything.” 

“Yeah, well I can  _ smell  _ you,” Vanny complained with a roll of her eyes. She stood and turned back to finish making her coffee. “You’re getting cleaned up after I eat.” She informed him.

Springtrap once again didn’t argue. He wasn’t going to track filth all over the house, and he could only imagine how bad he actually smelled. He had grown used to the scent; he had been the source of it for years, after all. Vanny’s poor nose deserved a break.  _ She  _ deserved a break from everything. The chair under the rabbit creaked as he shifted his weight and stood to his feet; he gripped onto the side of the table to keep his balance. Once he was steady, he made his way over to Vanny. He loomed above her silently and watched her prepare her breakfast.

Any normal person would be cowering away in fear, but Vanny didn’t even acknowledge the robot’s presence behind her. She wasn’t in such a good mood anymore.

Springtrap leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her stomach as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Vanny relaxed in his hold. Some of her bitterness melted away as she looked down at those fluffy fingers that were firmly planted around her stomach.

If he wanted, Springtrap could disembowel her and she would be powerless to stop him.

Vanny shoved the morbid thought away as a small rumbling came from the animatronic clinging to her. It sounded like a pleased hum, but it reminded Vanny more of a purring cat than a human noise. She glanced over at Springtrap with a weak, defeated smile. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long. “You fucking reek.” She half-heartedly complained as she leaned closer to him, resting her cheek on his own. Springtrap nuzzled his cheek against her, muttering a soft, “Good.” 

Breakfast was fairly uneventful; Vanny had eaten the second piece of toast and drank a cup of coffee before deciding that it was time to wash her huge, smelly ass pet. Springtrap had passed on the coffee; there was really no point when he couldn’t taste it.

Vanny put her mug in the sink and turned to head towards the bathroom.

“Are you waterproof?” She asked as she looked back at him. She was making her way to the closet in the hallway to grab several large body towels. She was going to have one hell of a time with the laundry. The rabbit visibly tensed at that question. Water couldn’t really hurt him anymore, though. Whatever could be damaged by water already had been. 

“Just don’t fill it completely.” He grumbled irritably. Vanny gave him a cheery smile and marched into the bathroom, preparing the bathtub for a mess that would no doubt stain it's pretty white walls and clog the drain. Once she had vanished inside the bathroom, Springtrap turned and walked in the opposite direction towards the living room. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he made his way to the tall windows that allowed him to gaze out into the yard. He watched as the wind blew the grass and barren tree branches. It was an odd sight to him. He’d spent so much time staring at the same four walls of a tiny, claustrophobic room for so long that he never thought he’d see the outside world again. He watched in silence as a few birds fluttered through the sky, soaring much higher than he could ever reach. The scenery must have made him space out because he didn’t hear Vanny walking up behind him until she was at his side. Despite her small size, her sudden appearance still made Springtrap jump. Vanny looked up at him with a matching surprised expression. She hadn’t thought that startling him was even possible. He was a walking killing machine and she wasn’t even five foot eight. Springtrap eyed her and relaxed. 

Being cooped up in a building with his victims for so long made him a little jumpy at times. He had always done his best to avoid the Puppet and all of her little friends, but they tormented him constantly. A small part of him had expected that tall, slender figure to creep out of their closet when they went to sleep last night. Like a scared child, he had checked inside of it for any unwanted guests. The only thing of interest that had been in the closet were two lifeless suits. The golden rabbit suit stared at him, perfectly groomed and taken care of. Seeing that suit filled him with mixed emotions. His own suit was complete while Vanny’s was missing its head. He had made sure to bring her mask home, though. It was still sitting on the couch; he had been far too exhausted to clean the ash and filth off of it that night. He had shut the closet door once he was satisfied that Puppet wasn’t inside, then crawled into bed next to his sleeping little demon.

There were no monsters in that closet; only their empty shells. The monsters were sleeping on the bed that night.

“Are you okay?” Vanny asked softly. Springtrap reached out and ruffled her hair.

“Of course. Yes.” He turned and began making his way towards the bathroom. Vanny followed right behind, clutching a scrub brush in her hands. This was going to take a while.

Upon entering the bathroom, William was faced with a literal bubble bath. The tub had only been filled enough to submerge a good portion of his legs; he was well aware that they were already damaged, but submerging himself any higher up was out of the question.

He wanted to prevent whatever was still functional from completely breaking down.

Vanny stood in the doorway, watching as he carefully clambered into the tub. He slowly sat down in the water, then looked over at her. Vanny smiled as she made her way over to him, prepared for the sore arms she was most definitely going to have.

“Should I take pictures?” Vanny asked with a playful smile. Springtrap didn’t reply; he just stared at her with a confused expression until she continued. “It’s your first bath.” 

Springtrap shook his head and scoffed. “Just hurry before I get out and track water all over the house.” He warned. Vanny gave him a soft smile as she dipped the brush into the water.

“Alright, pissy pants.” 

The bathwater had turned black. Vanny stared in disgust as it drained for the third time. She kept refilling the tub, then draining it once the water looked like tar. It would be a miracle if the drain  _ didn’t  _ get clogged at this point. As the tub filled back up for the fourth time that morning, Springtrap examined his hands and arms. That was the first thing that Vanny had set out to clean, and she was hoping to clean his chest next. She stared at his soaking fur that now vaguely had a mango scent mixed in with the more offensive odors. She was beginning to wonder if spraying him down with Febreze would be her best bet. Vanny turned the water off and began scrubbing at his chest and sides, working through the tangled fur as best she could. A hairbrush sat on the edge of the tub with chunks of dirty yellow fur tangled in its bristles. 

“How did this even happen?” She grunted as she gave up her scrubbing in favor of reaching for the brush. She needed to get that tangle out of his fur before she could continue.

“Hey,” Springtrap spoke up, “-be happy that I evicted all the rats.”

Vanny’s face scrunched up as she grimaced. “That’s disgusting.” 

Springtrap let out that odd, mechanical chuckle again. Vanny pulled away, allowing her arms to rest for a moment with a tired huff. The animatronic in the tub shifted and leaned against the wall, watching Vanny with interest. It had felt like decades since he’d seen her, yet part of him still felt empty.

He was still upset that he had left her for even a week, let alone years. What she saw in him, he wasn’t sure. She clearly was batshit crazy to take interest in him, to begin with, but they had always been crazy together. Now, he could offer her nothing. He was no longer human; he couldn’t take her out on wild adventures like they used to go on. He couldn’t hold her at night against his skin. She wouldn’t ever feel his heartbeat or be able to take him into public with her.

Their relationship had never been normal, but it had at least been somewhat functional.

Why she still felt drawn to him, he couldn’t understand. He wasn’t even technically human at this point. He couldn’t truly be there for her like he had been before. Sure, protecting her would be absolutely no problem ever again, but any semblance of a normal relationship had been lost.

Despite his better judgment, Springtrap felt words leaving his mouth before he could think.

“Why are you doing this?” 

Vanny blinked and paused picking clumps of fur out of the brush. “What?”

“Why are you fixing me? Why are you cleaning me?”  _ Why didn’t you move on? _

“Why wouldn’t I?” Her face was twisted in confusion. 

“I’m not even technically alive anymore, Vanny. Wouldn’t finding someone else be more appealing?” Vanny threw the clump of fur on the floor and leaned in, returning to his matted chest fur she had been working on. Springtrap perked his ears up, but didn’t say another word. It took Vanny a moment to respond, but when she did, she sounded confident and sure of herself. There was no possible way that Springtrap could doubt her words; they were genuine.

“I don’t love anyone else.” She said simply. There was that word; that damn word that he hadn’t heard in an eternity. Vanny smiled in triumph as the fur was successfully detangled; it was a welcome distraction from the words that this conversation had put into her head. 

“ **_You fear that I don’t love you. Vinny. Sweetheart, I never did._ ** ”

Whatever that doll was that had been at Freddy’s, she tried to assure herself that it had burnt up in the fire that had nearly killed her and William. She had come to assume that it, too, was one of William’s victims, but its mere existence was still beyond disturbing. If the dead children were able to cling to things like that, she could only assume that the rabbit sitting in front of her was similar in some way. He had just admitted his death to her, after all.

_ ‘I’m not even technically alive anymore,’ _

Vanny’s eyes drifted up to meet the rabbit’s as the brush was left on the side of the tub.

Springtrap knew by just the look on her face that she was about to ask a question.

“How did you die?”

There it was. That was the question he had been dreading. Springtrap shifted in the tub, causing the dirty water to slosh around. How could he even begin to explain it?

“This suit,” he began softly; he immediately had Vanny’s full attention. “-was one of two of its kind. We called them spring-lock suits. They were meant to double as both animatronics and costumes.” The rabbit paused to stare down at his withered, soaking body. “There were accidents. They were quite risky and had their faults, and in the end, I built my own coffin.”

Vanny stared at him, bug-eyed and silent. “Your… body is still in there?” The rabbit moved forward as if he were about to reach up for his own head, but he decided against it and turned the movement into a quick nod. Vanny didn’t need to see, and he wasn’t going to let her. 

“ _ William _ .” She croaked out. There were tears in her eyes again. If she went the rest of the day without crying, it would have been a miracle. He had watched her cry far too much since they’d reunited. These were sad tears slipping down her cheeks, this time. 

“Stop fucking crying,” he hissed out. Despite the harshness of his words, there was no real anger to them. She was damaged because of him, both physically and mentally. Her emotions had been all over the place, but he understood why. 

Vanny turned away from him as she sniffled, trying her best to hide her tears. While William had no issue with her crying her feelings away, having her cry over him was a different story altogether. It became obvious that his words had come across as harsh, cold and uncaring when Vanny quieted her sobs as much as possible.

William wasted no time and reached out to brush her cheek with the back of his hand.

“There’s better things to cry over,” he said softly. Vanny shook her head in the negative.

She wrapped herself around his neck, pulling him to the edge of the tub to better hold him against her chest, seeking comfort. He was there, hugging her right back. She didn’t care that her clothes were getting even more disgusting and wet; they were material things that meant nothing to her. They had already been singed from the fire she’d escaped; she hadn’t bothered to change this morning. 

If only she had looked a little harder at Freddy’s all those years ago, maybe William could have been saved. The past couldn’t be changed, and she knew that. Even death couldn’t tear him from her, though. Despite the fact that his heart had withered away years ago, he still loved her. He could still feel that fluttering feeling as he held her, and he would die a second time to keep her safe. Vanny was the only thing he had left in his pathetic afterlife, and he was all Vanny had wanted in her life. Her dedication to preserving their home was proof of that. She couldn’t ever think of finding someone else. William held her close, comforting her as best he could.

Despite the fact that she was holding the man she loved in her arms, Vanny felt a pang of horrible, choking guilt. There were several ways she could blame herself for his death, and she was going to feel horrible about it for the rest of her days. Fate had brought them back together, though, so, despite her regrets and guilt, she would make it up to William somehow. She was going to spend the rest of her life trying to make up for his death that she had no hand in and could have in no way prevented. Springtrap rubbed her back gently as he quietly shushed her.

Vanny’s sobs eventually came to a stop, and she peeled herself away from him with a small sniffle. She felt like a crybaby, and even though William hadn’t said it, she wondered if he felt that she’d grown to be weak. The woman wiped her runny nose on the back of her already disgusting sleeve. Springtrap leaned back, making himself comfortable in the tub.

“I’m sorry.” Vanny managed softly as she went for the scrub brush once again.

“I am, too,” he replied. Before she could ask what he was referring to, one of his large fingers found its way to her stitches. “I didn’t know it was you,” He repeated. 

Vanny nodded with a small sniffle. “You’ve said.” 

She returned to the task at hand, cleaning William to the best of her ability. Despite the fact that there was a corpse inside of the rabbit, Vanny couldn’t find it in herself to shy away in disgust.

That corpse was William, and even though his consciousness had shifted over to the rabbit, part of her felt relieved that his body had come home as well. She felt a little at ease, despite the gruesome and disgusting things she had learned. She had brought home  _ all  _ of William, and he was completely hers.

  
  


The morning stretched into the late afternoon, and as four o’clock came rolling around, Vanny finally finished cleaning the mess of fur and filth in front of her. Springtrap was examining his fur, clearly impressed with how clean she had actually managed to get him. As the bathwater drained for a final time, Vanny slipped her socks off and tossed them onto the bathroom floor. The rabbit gave her a questioning glance as she grabbed a bottle of shampoo out of the cabinet, then made her way back over to the tub. “I thought we were done?” He asked with a curious tilt of his head. Vanny shook her head. “Stand up,” She offered her hand out to him, prepared to help him up. He hesitated a moment before taking it. He didn’t actually pull against her since he would have just pulled her in the tub on top of him, but he placed his other hand on the edge of the tub to push himself up. He shook once he was on his feet, then regained his balance as usual. Vanny let go of his hand and turned to grab one of the clean rags off of the counter. Springtrap watched her with curious eyes as she examined herself in the mirror. Her grey T-shirt was no doubt already ruined; at least it wasn’t her favorite jacket. She would fight to hell and back to scrub stains out of that thing. Springtrap remained still as she walked over to the tub and stepped inside. He seemed a little surprised as she closed the curtain, then turned on the shower. The showerhead blasted water onto her already partially wet body, completely drenching her. She popped open the cap of the shampoo and squirted a generous amount onto Springtrap’s shoulders. One extra scrub wouldn’t hurt, and she needed to clean herself as well. Vanny gave him a little smile as she lathered the fruity soap into his fur and looked up into his inhuman eyes. He returned her smile as he towered over her, allowing her to clean him as best she could. The water warmed Vanny’s skin and made her shiver. Springtrap relaxed as she moved down to lather the soap in his chest fur; it was much more soothing than the awkward ordeal of brushing and yanking his fur out. Vanny leaned forward and hugged the rabbit tight, pressing her cheek against his soapy chest.

“I love you,” Vanny said softly. Springtrap’s hands slid down her back, trailing over her soaked shirt as they made their way down to rest on her hips. His voice came out soft and calm, barely sounding robotic. “I love you too.”


	8. Scars and Stitches

Vanny was leaning against the bathroom counter, staring into the mirror at her cheek. Her hair was wet and dripping and a green towel had been wrapped around her damp body. Springtrap sat on the edge of the tub holding a towel of his own, attempting to dry his fur as best he could.

Vanny stared into her own tired eyes. She noticed that they seemed a little more lively than usual. Her soaking clothes had been abandoned in the bathtub; that was a problem for future Vanny. She was starving and snuggling up against her giant, fluffy beast of a lover while watching a movie sounded like heaven. Springtrap kept sneaking glances at Vanny as she messed with her stitches, though his gaze wasn’t on her face. Vanny was very aware of the eyes on her, but she didn’t have the energy to say something to torment him right then. She wanted to curl up on the couch and go to sleep. Her arms were sore and her knees ached from being on the floor for so long. At least she’d succeeded in ridding the rabbit of his putrid smell…. Mostly. There was still a faint hint of mildew, but Vanny was content with giving in for the day. She still had a lot of work to do on him, but for tonight she had done enough.

Vanny turned to him with a small smile as she pushed away from the counter and stepped into the doorway; she hugged the door frame as she watched him dry his fur. 

“How does a movie sound?” She asked gently. Springtrap’s gaze drifted away from his soaking legs to acknowledge her. His good ear perked up ever so slightly, and Vanny was beginning to realize that it was most likely a sign of interest or curiosity.

“How are you going to sneak me into the theater?” He asked with a sarcastic grin and lidded eyes. Vanny shook her head as she turned away. “Now you don’t get to pick it.” She muttered as she vanished into the dim hallway. The lights hadn’t been turned on in the hall, and the sun was already slipping away for the night, making it dimly lit and hard to see. Springtrap grinned to nobody but himself and returned to drying himself off, determined to minimize the amount of water that was going to soak up into the couch. The appearance of a stray, damp green towel being flung into the bathroom from around the corner caught his attention as it landed by his feet. His eyes snapped up in time to see Vanny’s hand slipping out of sight. A part of him wanted to get up and peek around the corner, but he decided against it and returned to drying his somewhat golden fur.

Vanny came back a few moments later in a pair of shorts and a flannel shirt that was much too large on her. Springtrap eyed it and realized that it was his own. He didn’t mind in the slightest; he couldn’t even fit into them anymore. The oversized green and white flannel looked nice on her, and though it didn’t show off her curves, William still found her absolutely beautiful.

Vanny had come bearing gifts, it seemed. She held a hairdryer in one hand and a large dry towel in another. Springtrap looked between her and the hairdryer, unsure who it was meant for. When Vanny lifted her hand and beckoned him over with a finger, he let out a defeated huff. The sooner he was dry, the sooner he could settle down for the night. Vanny plugged the hairdryer in beside the mirror and waited patiently for the rabbit to make his way over. He stood and trembled, then made his way over to her. He stared down at her with a blank expression that was impossible to read. Vanny didn’t feel threatened by the robot’s presence, though.

Even when he was towering over her with a look like that, she didn’t have it in her to fear Will.

The hairdryer was switched on, and it was raised to Springtrap’s face a moment later. Even though his eyes couldn’t get dried out since they were plastic, he found himself squinting out of instinct. He had only been subjected to a hairdryer a few times in the past. 

Once when he was running late on a date, and another time when Elizabeth had insisted on helping him get ready for work one morning. The rabbit’s smile fell ever so slightly, but Vanny didn’t notice.

There was silence as Vanny dried the rabbit; speaking over the loud hum of the dryer would have been tiring and pointless, anyway. It didn’t take long until she was satisfied, and turned it off. Springtrap eyed himself in the mirror, which he had to bend down to even look into. Vanny’s sore arms and knees had definitely paid off. With a pleased hum, he turned and pressed his clean, fuzzy nose against Vanny’s good cheek. He gave her a quick, affectionate nuzzle which made her smile and then ducked through the doorframe and into the hallway. Vanny unplugged her hairdryer and left it on the counter. The bathroom light was quickly flipped off, and then she joined him in the hallway. Her tiny hands reached out and grasped onto his large ones, and Springtrap led the way into the living room.

The living room wasn’t nearly as dark as the hallway; the twilight’s purple and pink hues lit up the wooden floors and white walls in a bright display that Springtrap had never counted on seeing again. Vanny paced over to a shelf that was stacked with VHS tapes. White tape had been stuck onto many of them with their contents scribbled on with a sharpie.

Vanny pilfered through their options in relative silence. The only sound that filled the now quiet house was the creaking floorboards where Springtrap was pacing and the chirping of birds outside. Vanny felt the rabbit’s presence over her shoulder, and it brought a smile to her face.

“Any suggestions?” She hummed softly. There was a brief pause before Springtrap leaned over her shoulder and bent over, peering down at the tapes with curiosity.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” He said softly. Vanny rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh as she grabbed a random tape from the pile.

“After all those years trapped in Freddy’s, you can’t think of a single thing you want to watch?”

“You.” He shot right back with a cocky grin. Vanny scoffed and shook her head as she made her way over to the TV. She bent down and slid the tape into the VCR. It had been a while since she had watched a movie, but something told her that her attention would be a little more focused on William than the movie itself. Just being close to him would be enough for her; she had longed to cuddle up against him every night since he left, and even though this was creepily similar to snuggling against the empty suit that was still hiding in the closet, Vanny knew that she hadn’t lost her mind. William was really here; he was inside of the rabbit this time, and he was home.

* * *

Hours felt like minutes to her. How they had already watched three movies, Vanny wasn’t sure.

Springtrap was lying below her, content and relaxed on the couch. His big, fuzzy arms were wrapped around her, keeping her close and secure. Vanny was physically exhausted but had no desire to go to sleep. She didn’t really care to see the ending of this particular movie again, but William’s company was reason enough to resist sleep. His fur was soft and smooth, and it faintly shone in the glow from the tv. The house was pitch black aside from the light coming from the screen. Springtrap was used to the darkness, though. 

A blanket had been thrown over Vanny’s back, keeping all of her body heat trapped against her. She was lying on her stomach on top of the rabbit with her cheek resting on his chest. Her arms were wrapped around his sides, and her fingers were embedded in his fur.

They had been talking on and off through the movie; it was clear that neither of them were truly invested in it. Vanny shifted on his chest, then pushed herself up on her elbows to face him.

Springtrap gave her a once-over and raised his eyelids up in interest.

“When are you going to tell me?” Vanny asked. She brought her hands up to rest her chin on, never breaking eye contact with the beast below her.

The rabbit let out a small huff. That was another question he knew was coming.

“I had business to take care of at Freddy’s.” He replied. Vanny gave him that look she always did when she knew he was lying or only giving her half of a story.

“What kind of business couldn’t wait until the next day?” was her next question.

Freddy’s had already been out of business at that point, so it wasn’t like he had to go in for some work-related emergency. Springtrap paused and Vanny patiently waited for him to reply.

“The kids.” He finally managed. Vanny tensed ever so slightly. She hadn’t been able to get the image of those rotting children out of her head and doubted she would ever succeed.

“They were in the robots. Like me.” Springtrap slowly sat up, clutching Vanny against himself to make sure she didn’t fall. Vanny looked up at him with an expression akin to fear. She knew that there was no reason to still be scared; those kids, if they were still somehow lingering around, were stuck at whatever was left of Fazbear’s Fright.

Vanny had no intention of ever going back there for however long she had left. Considering she was only in her thirties, the sight of those kids would haunt her for many more years to come.

“They possessed the… robots?” She questioned. Somehow, even with Springtrap sitting right in front of her, saying something so outlandish out loud was insane. The rabbit in front of her grinned, showing off his teeth that were next up on the list of things to clean and fix.

“They stuck around like rats.” He said in a low, intimidating voice. Vanny wasn’t moved by it, though. She had no reason to fear him despite all he’d done. 

“I went to Freddy’s to destroy them before they could come and find me. They didn’t have to, though. I was stupid enough to go crawling back.”

Vanny gave him a small, meek nod. She could piece the rest together herself. 

“How… did the suit ….” Vanny went silent for a brief moment. Springtrap remained still and quiet, allowing her to gather and process her thoughts and words.

“How did it kill you?” She finally managed. Springtrap blinked, then scoffed.

“Painfully.” He spat, causing Vanny to wince and regret asking in the first place.

“There’s lots of sharp metal and plastic in here, Vanny,” He gestured to himself with one of his hands, moving it up and down from his chest to his pelvis.

“If you really must know, though, I can dig out my old blueprints for this suit later.”

Despite the gruesome topic, Vanny had always been fascinated by William’s creations. She had always wanted to know all she could about them, but she was never pushy. Making William upset or uncomfortable had never been her intent, and she didn’t want to hover over him while he tinkered with his little robotic toys. 

Vanny gave him a firm nod as something akin to excitement glimmered in her eyes.

Springtrap relaxed slightly and cupped the side of her face. The only sound in the house was the voices from the TV, and he found himself relaxing more and more in Vanny’s presence.

The Puppet had been tormenting him for years and being out of her strings still felt surreal. It was hard for him to believe that he was actually home with Vanny in his arms, but here he was.

Seeing the way she still got excited over the smallest things made him feel just a little bit safer. It was familiar and soothing; it was almost like he had never left.

Freddy’s was in the past, and Vanny was his future.

“I never meant to leave you,” he murmured softly. The look that Vanny gave him could only be described as a lovestruck gaze. Springtrap felt his tail wagging behind him ever so slightly. 

“I waited for you.” She said softly. Springtrap nodded and lowered his ear. He already knew.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I really am.”

Even though he had used the pet name with innocent intent, the use of the word  _ ‘sweetheart’  _ sent Vanny’s heart beating much too fast. She must have gotten a weird look on her face because Springtrap was leaning forward with a concerned expression instantly.

“Vanny?”

Vanny relaxed a little when he pulled her closer. He eyed her with a worried expression, searching for anything that could be wrong with her. Vanny pulled herself up to snuggle against him. She hid her face in his chest, clutching to him as he clung to her.

“That fucking doll-” she whispered, “What was it?”

Springtrap hesitated, allowing her to tremble in his arms. 

“One of the children.” He said simply. Vanny hugged him a little tighter.

“They’re gone now…” He assured her in a soft, low whisper. Vanny could tell by the tone in his voice that he wasn’t entirely sure of himself. He had no way of knowing if that fire had burned his sins away for good, and it was clear by both his expression and the tone in his voice that he was too scared to go back and check. There would never be any reason for either of them to go back, though. Their worries about Freddy’s and the Puppet should have been put to rest, but a small part of both of them would always wonder what became of those creatures.

Vanny wasn’t sure if she could describe them as monsters, really. They were just kids; kids clinging to life the only way they could. Springtrap was a monster, and she would admit that even to him, although she would do so in a sick, adoring way. He was a monster that she had fallen in love with; she didn’t hate him for his actions, and she didn’t hold them against him.

It was like admitting that a wolf was a predator; it was the truth, and both of them embraced it.

They were both equally as twisted, demented and psychotic. 

Vanny knew that they had problems and were far from normal, but normal wasn’t what got her this far. She had fought to be alive today, and if others failed their fight to survive against her, that was simply too bad. Strength and wit was the key to survival, and Vanny had grown rather strong since fleeing her home and hiding away in Hurricane. This was where she had met William, and where her life spiraled down a path of bloodstains and corpse disposal.

William had always been stronger than her physically, but now she would have absolutely no chance of overpowering him in any situation. He was a giant with sharp claws and the strength of a bear. Vanny had always despised when anyone had power over her, yet with William, she had always submitted herself fully. He had never forced her into a situation she didn’t want to be in; he was always considerate of her feelings and needs, even though he had no problem with taking the lives of children. He felt nothing towards those children, though. Vanny was all he had left; his wife and his own children were long gone. His wife had been taken from him many years ago, and he didn’t want to ever have to bury another woman he loved.

He loved his wife, yes, but with Vanny it was different. He and Vanny shared one common interest that his wife had never known about. He would never say it out loud, but he found himself caring for Vanny more than he ever had for his wife.

He never spoke of his deceased wife much, but Vanny certainly knew about her. Vanny had never shown any signs of jealousy, and William was thankful for that. 

Vanny often found herself feeling like she had to live up to all of Will’s expectations; she had stepped into a position that had already been previously filled. She wondered if he would have preferred Mrs. Afton over her from time to time, but she never questioned him about it. Bringing up the dead wasn’t something she intended on doing, whether it be Mrs. Afton or William’s children. There was a time when Vanny wanted to help fill the void in William’s heart; she had wanted to give him at least one child, but it had never happened. It wasn’t like she had ever asked, either. She would forever beat herself up over never having the courage to speak her mind, but it was far too late now to even think of such things. He wasn’t even alive anymore. Vanny’s chance had been lost. She had him, though, and that was enough; she would do her best to shove down the feeling of loss for something she never had.

Vanny held onto him a little tighter, both seeking to give and get comfort.

“Why were you able to stay?” She asked. Springtrap rubbed her back gently.

“Dying in one of these suits is very, very traumatic.” He began. “I’d assume that has something to do with it. That, or I’m just too stubborn to stay dead.”

“I like the second one.” Vanny hummed.

“Yeah, me too.” The rabbit agreed.

Vanny turned her attention back to the TV as she snuggled a little closer, and the two spent the rest of the night in relative silence.

  
  
  


* * *

Vanny winced as blood ran down her finger, trailing down her wrist.

“ _ Ouch! _ Fucking dammit.” Her finger quickly slipped into her mouth as she sucked the blood off and set her needle down on the kitchen table. Springtrap was sitting still, wearing a shit-eating grin. “I thought you said you were good at sewing?” He snickered. Vanny wasn’t badly hurt, it had simply been a small prick, so he wasn’t concerned.

“You can fuck right off,” She hissed as she slipped her finger out of her mouth.

She had spent all morning sewing him up, closing up any gaps in his suit with pretty, neat stitchwork. It wouldn’t ever look like it had when the suit was new, but it was definitely an improvement. Only a few openings remained; it was fortunate that she had enough spare fabric that matched his fur to aid in his repair. Vanny took a step back and eyed her handiwork.

Springtrap stared at her with a gentle gaze, clearly just happy to be around.

“You need to show me how to fix your legs, next.” Vanny hummed as she crept closer, going back to the spots she still had to repair. Springtrap watched as she sewed the gaps in his fur together. Despite his teasing, she had done an excellent job of stitching him back together.

He sort of liked the way the stitches were faintly visible; it was Vanny’s doing, and it was her symbol of love and undying loyalty; she would be here for him no matter what.

Springtrap eyed the stitches on her own cheek as guilt came creeping back in.

He hoped it wouldn’t scar too badly...


	9. Putty Bunny

Time had gone by at a snail’s pace before William had come home, but now it seemed to be going by in the blink of an eye. Three months had gone by much too fast, and Vanny was desperately clinging to every moment; keeping it near and dear to her heart.

Springtrap didn’t look the same as he had when she found him in the slightest. The rotten rabbit now looked practically new, even though his body was lined with stitches. His fur was soft and no longer stunk; his legs were fully operational once again, and many of his other broken parts had been repaired or replaced. Vanny was a fast learner, and with William guiding her through every step of repairing his robotics, she had caught on fast. The inner workings of the suit made perfect sense to her, now. She had to learn quite a lot about them to help fix him, and she had done so without a second thought. He had given her blueprints to the suit, explaining how each and every piece of machinery worked and functioned. His exposed metal legs had been covered with new fur, and his feet were good as new. Black claws were barely visible through the fuzz on his toes, but they were somewhat noticeable. His missing ear remained the same, though. Vanny had patched the fur there, but he didn’t want it to be replaced. It served no real function, and Vanny had a strong feeling that he thought it looked cool.

She couldn’t argue, though. She had grown used to seeing him with half an ear, and she found it rather cute if she were being honest.

Life was actually somewhat… normal. Vanny had someone around for once, and her sanity seemed to be fairly stable. She was functioning much better than she had in years, and when she made trips into town, she found herself being a lot happier and friendlier in general.

With the car gone, she had to ride a bike whenever she went for grocery runs. It wasn’t a terribly long ride, but it was tiring nonetheless. She had been asked about the stitches when she was being rung up at the grocery store one day by one of the employees. Blaming the injury on a dog was seemingly good enough for the ignorant public, but nobody really interacted with her otherwise. No questions had been asked about the car that had been driven into Fazbear’s Fright. Either it had been burnt beyond any hope of identifying it, or Clay had simply had enough of suspecting Vanny for crimes and decided to drop it. Vanny was certain that the first reason was much more plausible.

Today was a rainy, terrible day. Thunder rolled in the distance, and an oncoming storm told Vanny that she’d be staying inside that afternoon. She pulled the dishes from the sink where she had been washing them and put them away, then happily bounced into the living room. Springtrap was lazing about on the floor, lying flat on his back. His neck was in an odd position that would have been impossible for a human, but it was perfectly comfortable for him. He was staring out the window, watching as the sky darkened and the trees shook and trembled in the wind. Birds were flying around in a panic, searching for cover from the oncoming storm. Vanny slowly lowered herself to sit on the rabbit’s chest. He had heard her coming but only acknowledged her with a small hum. Vanny looked out the window, following his gaze. Lightning flashed in the distance, making both Vanny and the rabbit below her perk up in interest.

“It looks like it’s going to be bad.” Springtrap hummed. Vanny laid down on top of him, nodding in agreement. She had nowhere to be, so the storm was free to come and flood the ditches and any unfortunate basements that it wished to seep into. After theirs had flooded a few years back in William’s absence, Vanny had made sure to get it completely fixed. There was no chance of another indoor swimming pool for them. Vanny rolled off of him and onto her stomach on the floor. She shuffled closer to him, pressing against him as she gazed out the window. The rabbit leaned closer to the woman, pressing his cheek against her own. The floor beneath them shook as thunder rolled outside. It was relaxing to Vanny, but the sound brought back bad memories for Springtrap.

He was by no means afraid of the thunder, but that sound was one of the last things he heard before he died in the suit he now called his body. He turned to Vanny, looking at the scar on her cheek with a gentle, sad stare. Vanny looked over to him as he rolled onto his stomach. His tail wagged lazily behind him as he gazed out the window with her, fixated on the darkness that consumed the sky. 

“You still like storms, don’t you?” He asked her softly. Vanny gave an affirmative nod.

“And you?” She asked back. The rabbit paused for a moment, clearly thinking the question over.

“I like them, yes.” he finally replied. His tail had stilled, and his eyes seemed distant now.

“It was storming that night, though. That was one of the reasons the spring locks failed.”

“The water?” Vanny asked softly. William had shown her the blueprints as promised and had explained to her what would happen when a spring lock failure occurred. 

The look of pure terror on her face would forever be burnt into his memory. It was a little amusing to him.

An apology was currently on the tip of Vanny’s tongue, but she had already apologized far too much after getting him back. It got out of hand to the point that he had to tell her to stop.

He assured her that all was well now and that she couldn’t have stopped him from going to Freddy’s even if she would have woken up that night. “Drop it.” He had told her one night, and she did.

Springtrap was watching her from the corner of his eye. He could see her debating on apologizing before deciding against it and closing her mouth. He relaxed a little and looked back out at the sky. He didn’t need her constantly apologizing to him for something that wasn’t her fault. He was to blame and no one else. Vanny had better things to do than spend the rest of her life rambling apologies to him.

The woman shuffled closer to him, pressing herself against his fluffy side. It was soft and cool and it didn’t give her the heat that his skin used to have. This new body lacked his warmth. It lacked his old voice, yet the voice he had was still his. She could still hear it somewhere in his new voice; his old one was still in there. This new voice would never fail to calm her. Part of her missed the feeling of his scarred skin that she’d never again feel against her own. Instead of warm skin, she now snuggled against golden fur. She had instantly fallen in love with the way his fur felt against her skin; especially on her cheeks. Snuggling into him quickly became one of her favorite things to do. She would never again feel the soft touch of his lips on hers, but that was alright. She had William back and he was hers, and she was his. Nobody was going to take him away from her ever again. Vanny snuggled into the side of the animatronic’s chest and closed her eyes as his big, fuzzy arms wrapped around her side, pulling her against him in a tight hug. Vanny felt loved.

Springtrap would never leave her; though she never called him by that name. She had heard people murmuring about the robot occasionally when she went into town and how it had wandered out of the building, carrying a dead body in its arms and wielding an axe.

The talk was dismissed by most reasonable people; an old pizzeria animatronic wouldn’t be smart enough to even use an axe, let alone set the building on fire to escape. Despite Clay’s orders to keep quiet, some of his officers had opened their mouths. They had searched for the robot, but found nothing. The inside of the pizzeria was charred, leaving behind no evidence besides a burnt, run-down car. The owner of Fazbear’s Fright had cried foul play, and an investigation was launched. The security guard had insisted that someone had set up fireworks outside to lure him out to gain access inside before setting the place on fire. A stray firework had injured the man, and so he had left the scene to seek help. Nothing ever came of the mysterious case, but most people came to assume that someone set the place on fire. The car was most likely used to gain access through the front doors, but not all the pieces fit together. The police had been very shaken up from what they had seen crawl into the woods that night, though only four of them had actually seen Springtrap themselves. Clay knew something was amiss, but nothing could be proven. No rabbit woman was ever found, and any evidence had burnt up with the pizzeria. There hadn’t been much left to pilfer through, just charred robot parts and arcade machines.

Vanny had quickly realized that the ‘corpse’ that the animatronic was carrying out was her, and the axe he was dragging along was hers. The ex-employees of the attraction hadn’t been able to keep their mouths shut much like the police, so word had gotten out that the rabbit had proclaimed its name was ‘Springtrap.’ When Vanny got home the night she had learned all of this, she had met William with a playful yet cocky grin. “I’m back, _Springtrap_.” She had announced with a small snicker.

The animatronic gave her a glare even though he wasn’t truly angry with her.

“The spring locks trapped me. This suit is a death trap,” He had shot back at her in defense of himself; explaining the origin of his little nickname. Vanny simply shook her head with a grin and turned to put the groceries away.

Thunder growled louder, now, jerking Vanny out of her thoughts. Springtrap glanced at her when she jumped but didn’t say a word. He perked his ears up, and cocked his head sideways curiously. Vanny let out a tired sigh and clutched onto one of his hands. She rubbed her thumb along the back of it, feeling the fur that she had worked so hard to keep clean.

“My father would lock me downstairs during thunderstorms.” she finally said.

Springtrap’s smile vanished instantly. “....What?”

He had always known that Vanny’s father wasn’t the best, but she had never spoken much about her life before fleeing to Hurricane.

Vanny averted her gaze and bit her bottom lip. She needed to keep her mouth shut.

It was one of the many things that had gotten her into trouble when she was younger.

“Why?” Springtrap growled out. Vanny shook her head and turned to look at him, attempting and failing to hide the tears forming in her eyes. She refused to cry, though. She had sworn she’d never cry over that piece of garbage again; that man had made his choice long ago. 

“That’s what I’m still asking.” She shakily said as she exhaled. Springtrap winced and pulled her closer, rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to calm her.

“You know he’s gone, Sweetheart. He can’t hurt you.”

Vanny’s father had died after William had vanished, leaving all of his possessions to her.

She took the money but kept none of his belongings. She didn’t even go out of state to search through the house; there was nothing for her there. She had promised herself that she’d never set foot in that house ever again. While her father hadn’t been a rich man, he had quite a bit of money at the time of his death. The money had allowed Vanny to completely seclude herself for eight years, never leaving the house to work or converse with normal people.

There was no need to work, so she hadn’t 

“I know,” Vanny said finally. The use of ‘Sweetheart’ still made her a little uncomfortable at times, but William meant no harm by it. He only wanted to comfort her. 

Her father was dead, and unlike Will, he wasn’t coming back in an animatronic suit anytime soon. Vanny laid in silence for a while, listening to the falling rain and thunder. Death had always surrounded her, it seemed. Death was always peering over her shoulder, taking away both people she brought to it, and those that she knew personally. Death had claimed her father, and she was thankful for that. Death had failed to take William, though. Whether it was actually because of how traumatic his death was or not, she probably wouldn’t ever know.

One way or another, Will had cheated death. He was dead, yet he wasn’t.

His robotic body would never wear out as long as he had access to the robotic parts he could easily make in the comfort of his own home. Vanny would always be there to keep his fur nice and clean, and the seclusion of the quaint little farmhouse allowed him to even go outside whenever he pleased. 

He was immortal, and Vanny wasn’t.

Her body ached and hurt in ways it never used to. Her skin wasn’t quite as soft as it had been when they first met; time was wearing her down. She was by no means on the brink of death, but death was coming for her. Vanny laid beside the creature, gazing out at the trees as they lost leaves to the harsh wind. She was going to die. William was going to live forever, and it was going to be her turn to leave William behind. She sat up to sit, then leaned on the rabbit next to her, holding onto his neck tight. Springtrap let out a small purr as his tail began wagging behind him. He was blissfully unaware of Vanny’s growing fear of death. A few tears slipped down Vanny’s cheek as she clutched onto the oblivious rabbit a little tighter.

  
  


* * *

Vanny didn’t sleep much that night. Springtrap was curled comfortably in bed beside her, sleeping soundly through the thunderstorm. She was wide awake, though. The storm wasn’t what had her shaken up. Thoughts of death were filling her mind and preventing her from sleeping. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about all that had happened in the past three months. Her wildest dreams had come true, even if they didn’t look like she had imagined them.

William wasn’t flesh and blood anymore, but he was still himself, and that’s all she had asked for. Vanny remained still and silent, listening to the soft breathing beside her and the rain on the roof. She sat up slowly, being careful not to wake Will. Her eyes glued onto her arms, and she silently traced her fingers along them. They were pale and smooth; barren of any scars or injury.

William’s skin had been decorated with scars from the suit he now wore, and Vanny now knew how close his brush with death had truly been. The spring lock failure that had scarred him occurred long before Vanny ever set foot in Hurricane; William had still been alive and happy along with his family. Vanny looked over at the rabbit for a moment before clambering out of bed. She crept through the bedroom as quietly as she possibly could, then trudged through the hallway. 

She made her way into the kitchen, making a beeline for the table. It was cluttered with a few boxes of robotic parts and blueprints that they had been using to fix him. Vanny grabbed onto the blueprint of Springtrap’s anatomy. She stared for a long time, taking it all in.

The spring locks were in clear sight, and Vanny shuddered at the thought of actually climbing into one of those death traps. Why had William ever thought making them was a good idea?

She supposed he _had_ paid for it dearly. Vanny rolled the blueprint up neatly and then turned, heading towards the basement. The door was right off the kitchen. The door was old and the cream paint was peeling, but what lay downstairs was far scarier than a scuffed up door. She flipped the light on at the top of the stairs and then began her descent. Vanny made her way down the stairs into the thankfully dry basement. Several shelves of junk lined the walls, and several sets of eyes stared her down.

Lifeless grins and broken smiles greeted her, waiting patiently to be assigned to a body as a replacement or a new creation altogether. Vanny hesitated at the last step, staring at the robotic parts in silence. She had never feared them, but after retrieving William from that inferno, she had come to be a little wary of anything resembling the forms that those kids took.

With a shudder, the woman turned her back on the piles of junk and headed towards a small work desk. There were boxes stacked on the wooden surface; most of which were filled with blueprints of William’s ideas, some of which had never made it out of the basement. She flipped through them all, taking in all there was to see. There was the fox, the bear, the chicken, and the rabbit. She eyed the Bonnie blueprints for a moment before pulling them to the side and setting them with the Spring Bonnie one she had drug down here with her. She continued to pilfer through the designs, ignoring many of them. There were odd humanoid ones she had never had the displeasure of seeing; she wasn’t even sure if they had been completed or not. She froze when she came across a wide, permanent grin. She quickly shoved the blueprint away, then returned her attention to the pile. Where was it? She knew that he still had…

There it was. A smiling, bucktooth face grinned up at her, stuck forever to the confines of the blueprint. The blue rabbit’s blueprint was quickly snatched up, and then all the other blueprints were returned to the box. The only three that remained out were Bonnie’s, Spring Bonnie’s and Toy Bonnie’s. She needed a _lot_ of references. She quietly tucked the three blueprints away on a separate shelf, and then began to head back upstairs. When she looked up, however, she froze in place. At the top of the stairs in the darkness of the kitchen, a tall figure lingered in silence.

Two white pinpricks stared her down, silent and motionless.

  
  


Vanny brought a hand to her chest and gasped, stumbling and falling down the couple of stairs she had already climbed up. Her heart was racing, and her entire body shook. It had seen her; the goddamn thing had definitely seen her.

 _“WILLIAM!!”_ She screamed at the top of her lungs.

“What?! What?!” His voice came instantly. The rabbit flew down the stairs and into the light; his eyes were blown wide and he looked prepared to gut an intruder.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Vanny closed her eyes and panted, lying back on the cold, dirty concrete floor as her tense body relaxed. Springtrap was hovering over her instantly, clearly concerned for her, considering she had fallen _backward_ down the stairs.

“You can’t- you can’t fucking sneak up on me like that. Jesus-...” Vanny sucked in deep breaths, attempting to calm her racing heart. Her relief faded as quickly as it had come, though.

That doll… it had appeared as Springtrap before… Vanny sat up slowly and looked up at the rabbit. He watched her curiously but didn’t say a word; he knew she was about to speak.

“Are we still going to visit my father next weekend?” She asked.

The rabbit stared down at her in silence. He looked… extremely baffled. His eyes were locked onto her, and it made Vanny shrink in on herself a little.

“What in the fuck are you talking about?” He finally growled.

Vanny relaxed and pushed herself up to her feet. Springtrap helped her up and eyed her as she steadied herself. He was looking for any injuries. Her elbows were scraped up a little, but otherwise, she was completely fine.

“Did you hit your head?” He growled in a firm but concerned voice. Vanny shook her head no. It was him... Nobody else knew a thing about her father, and she had a feeling that if this was that Puppet, it would have gone along with whatever she said.

“No- I just…” Springtrap stared at her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn’t, he began to grow worried. Vanny noticed the concerned expression on his face.

“I didn’t know if it was you.” She admitted sheepishly. Springtrap nodded; he knew the abilities that Charlie had gained in her afterlife; he didn’t blame Vanny for doubting that it was him at first. They had no reason to believe that the Puppet survived that fire, but they had every right to be worried. Springtrap was well aware that Puppet had taken his form to torment Vanny and he now realized what had startled her so bad. She wasn’t afraid of him; she was afraid that he was _Charlie._

“What are you doing down here?” He finally questioned softly. Vanny pulled herself against him in a tight hug. What could she possibly say to explain her snooping?  
She had an idea suddenly, and she was going to go with it.

“Do you remember that cop I told you about? The one that showed up to question me about you?” She asked softly. The rabbit nodded.

“I want him dead,” Vanny said flatly. Springtrap pulled away from her and stared down at her with a soft gaze. He seemed a little excited at the idea of getting blood on his hands again.

“When? Do you know where he lives?” The rabbit asked as he smiled with a wide, toothy grin. His tail was wagging excitedly, and under different circumstances, Vanny would have been gushing about how cute it was but she was entirely too focused on the task at hand to notice.

“I don’t want to kill him with my axe, Will. I want to kill him in a slow, horrible way.”

The rabbit’s excitement visibly grew. “Torture, then?”

Vanny leaned against him. “This cop caused me a lot of trouble and grief. He’s the reason that Hurricane hates me. He spread the rumors about me killing you.”

Springtrap slowly turned his head to the side; his white pupils had shrunk to pinpricks, and he seemed to be spacing out. If he were a dog, he would have been drooling in anticipation.

“I want to kill him in a horrible, painful, slow way.” She traced her fingers down his chest fur, feeling over his stitches carefully. One of her hands slid up to rest behind the rabbit’s good ear, and she began rubbing it gently. Springtrap bent down lower, giving Vanny better access to his sensitive ears. “Any way you want, Vanny.” The rabbit purred out blissfully. Her free hand cupped his cheek, and she gazed into his barely visible pupils.

“Let’s build a suit.” She whispered out.

The rabbit’s eyes grew impossibly wider. He had never considered such a cruel death for someone he hated, but having experienced it himself, the thought of having someone who had caused his lover trouble dying inside of a spring lock suit was beyond exciting.

“Yes.” He purred. He was putty in Vanny’s soft, sinful hands.

“Anything for you, darling.” He hissed out with a grin.


	10. A Coffin's Grin

“A little tighter, Vanny.” Springtrap murmured.

Vanny did as she was asked and tightened the bolts on the endoskeleton. It stared at her with a blank expression as she pulled it together piece by piece. Springtrap was right next to her, guiding her patiently through every step.

He was quite impressed by her dedication and skill at it. The suit, though it currently had no outer workings, was practically complete. It was much smaller than the suit that William currently possessed. He had questioned Vanny about why she had wanted it smaller, and she had insisted that it would be much more satisfying to see the cop struggle against a tighter, smaller build. Springtrap had grinned and agreed. They had combined the sleeker, thinner build of the Toys with the deadly, horrible spring locks. With William helping her through it all, designing the sleeker, smaller spring suit was a breeze.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take out Clay, too?” Springtrap asked her with a dark grin.

Vanny shook her head. “No, only Dunn.” She had insisted. Clay was her enemy simply because he was an officer, but that other blonde asshole who had come sniffing around eight years ago had been a complete douchebag to her. She wasn’t against killing Clay, necessarily, but he wasn’t the target she had in mind. Vanny had found out that the man who had shown up at her door went by Officer Dunn not long after he had barged into her home like the rude pig that he was. She kept picturing Dunn inside of the suit in front of her, but it felt… wrong.

Killing him wasn’t the issue, but-

“ _ Hey,” _ Springtrap spoke up suddenly, making Vanny tense. Her big green eyes locked onto his face as he spoke. He was rolling his wrist lazily, clutching a screwdriver firmly.

“Once we’re done with this, maybe we can tinker around with other projects… Just for fun?”

Vanny blinked at him, clearly a little surprised. Ever since they had begun working on the spring lock suit three weeks ago, Will had been very upbeat and happy go lucky. It reminded Vanny of when she used to do something with her younger cousins that interested the little brats. The rabbit was acting like a child who was just happy to have someone to play with. 

William had been  _ very _ excited to have someone share his interest in his mechanical creations again. It reminded him of better days before he had ruined his friendship with Henry. He really was trying his best not to think about that man, but the thoughts still lingered, along with a faint hint of guilt. Despite all the years that had passed, William still wished that he hadn’t gone after Charlie that night. The past was full of horrible things, but William wanted to fill his future with horrible things as well. He was helping Vanny make a death suit for a man who had simply been a little too cocky and obnoxious to her. Things never changed, yet they always did. 

“What kinds of projects?” Vanny asked with an interested tone in her voice as she turned back to the set of locks she was currently working on. Springtrap kept an eye on her as she continued, making sure that she didn’t fuck it up and lose a finger in the process.

“Just little things. Whatever you’d like, really.” He purred.

Vanny looked up at him. “You’re the robotics expert.” she pointed out with a small smirk.

“You clearly have a talent for this kind of thing, Vanny. You caught on a lot quicker than anyone else ever did.” Vanny shrugged her shoulders and returned to working on the endoskeleton in front of her. “Only because you’re helping me,” She pointed out in a low voice.

The rabbit rolled his eyes and sat his screwdriver on the kitchen table with a small huff.

“You can just say no, Vanessa.” He grumbled with an annoyed flick of his ear.

Vanny pulled her fingers away from the sharp metal bits as carefully as she could, then crossed her arms. She stared at the rabbit in front of her with a very displeased expression.

“Stop pouting,” she huffed. “I never said I wouldn’t do it, but don’t expect me to come up with some amazing design.”

Springtrap gave a quick nod and turned back to look at the endoskeleton. 

“You’re acting like a toddler,” Vanny muttered as she turned back to the set of locks she was setting into place. Springtrap let out a small sound; it was like a mixture of a grunt and a growl.

He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was well aware that he was acting rather pissy.

Vanny had a talent with metal and machinery, but she was too stubborn to acknowledge it.

In her mind, she would never compare to William or his wonderful monstrosities he had created.

She would forever be in his shadow, just like she always had been. She was fine with being overshadowed, though. She wasn’t jealous of William or his talents, she just wanted things to stay the same as they always had been. William was the clever creator, and she was his partner who helped him clean the bloodstains out of his clothes.

She didn’t want him to look to her, expecting some kind of greatness to come from her.

William was the creator, and she was the helping hand. Nothing great would ever come from her, and she was fine with that. If he expected her to create something with her own hands, she feared she would fail. Letting William down wasn’t an option, so she preferred to live and die without taking risks by stepping into a field she wasn’t skilled in.

She had a talent with these things, that much was clear, but she wanted to have a hand to hold through it all. Vanny was independent, yes, but there was a difference between doing what needed to be done and taking a leap into something she felt she would fail at.

If William expected nothing from her, she couldn’t let him down… Right?

Springtrap watched as the woman worked on the spring lock suit in silence. He watched the way her eyes scanned across her tools, then back to the mass of metal and plastic. She had already drifted back into her work; zoning out completely. She knew what she was doing, now. Springtrap had guided her through adjusting enough of these locks that she felt comfortable continuing on her own. He was still watching her like a hawk, though. One wrong action could set a lock off, and he didn’t want Vanny to lose anything. The rabbit remained silent while she worked, and a small part of him felt a little more complete as if a void that had been aching for years had possibly found a way to be filled. Vanny and he could create horrible, wonderful monstrosities together; but unlike Henry, she would be willing to knowingly create them to kill.

* * *

That night, when all of the tools and loose bits of robotic scrap had been put away, Vanny stared at the endoskeleton in front of her. It was complete, now. The only thing left to do was wrap the deathtrap in soft fur that would soon be stained with blood. Creating the outer part of the suit was something that Vanny intended on doing herself; she had made her own suit all those years ago, after all. She was experienced, and she didn’t need Springtrap’s paw to hold onto and guide her through this part. Vanny turned to the rabbit as he rummaged through the fridge, looking for something that Vanny could eat. The sight of the comically large rabbit hunched over, digging through the refrigerator brought a smile to the woman’s face.

“I’m not too hungry, Will.” She hummed as she turned away from the endoskeleton that was sitting perfectly still in one of the kitchen chairs. The rabbit didn’t look up at her but made a low grumble; Vanny knew well enough that it meant that he was finding her something to eat whether she liked it or not. The sun was setting, and the kitchen glowed a faint orange hue.

Vanny walked slowly beside the kitchen counter, running her fingers across the cold surface.

Her heart felt heavy, yet she was excited and wanted to move. She wanted to burn off this sudden burst of energy while she had the chance. She could eat later.

“ _ Will- _ ” Vanny called out as she bounded over to the fridge with a skip in her step.

The rabbit pulled his head out of the fridge and looked at her with a confused expression as she reached out and took ahold of both of his paws.

“Dance with me.” She beamed with wide, excited eyes. Springtrap blinked in confusion and stared at her.

“Dance?” He parroted back in a gruff voice. Vanny eagerly nodded.

“Come on!” She tugged on his arm gently in an attempt to steer him into the living room. 

“Vanny, come on,” He grumbled as he pulled his paws out of her grasp. Despite her best efforts, Vanny hadn’t been able to move him even a single inch. He was a heavy robot, now. He was no longer the William she would play wrestle with and occasionally get the upper hand on.

The excitement in her eyes dulled and her smile fell slightly.

“Maybe tomorrow.” Springtrap huffed as he turned back to searching through the fridge.

Vanny stood still, clutching her hands together in silence. It took her a long moment to reply, but when she did, Springtrap failed to notice the sadness in her voice.

“ _ Alright… _ ” She whispered softly.

  
  


* * *

Vanny didn’t sleep much that night. She clung to Springtrap in silence as she attempted to doze off. They had both agreed to use the suit by the end of the week, and their plan to lure the cop into the open to capture was still a work in progress. Vanny couldn’t find herself caring too much about their little plan, though. She quietly sat up in bed and looked down at her arms. She traced her fingers across the smooth, scarless surface. She just sat there, silently staring at her pale, perfect skin. Springtrap shifted beside her, and she turned to look at him. He was still unconscious, it seemed. She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the forehead, then snuck out of bed towards the closet. Vanny carefully crept across the floor, making sure to avoid stepping on any part of the floor that creaked. She made it over to the closet without a single noise, then opened the door slowly; not wanting to wake Springtrap. She stared inside at the two empty suits. Her own was right beside William’s old one; smiling and waiting for the next time Vanny drug it out to play. Vanny lingered in the doorway for a long moment before walking inside. She stared down at her suit’s pretty white fur and the brown spots that she’d carefully designed long ago. She quickly overlooked it, however, and turned to grab a tub of fabrics from one of the shelves above where many of William’s old clothes hung.

The tub was pulled into her arms, and then she exited the closet. 

Springtrap didn’t wake as Vany snuck out of the bedroom and down the hall.

She made her way into the living room with groggy, worn-out steps.

Vanny hadn’t been getting much sleep since that night she had crept into the basement.

There was so much to think about; there was too much to worry about. 

Her life had been an insane roller coaster up until this point, and she knew it was only going to continue to change. Nothing ever stayed the same for long, not even her.

Vanny pulled out some of her fabric, selecting sparkly pinks and purples for her little project. She had made plenty of vests before, so this wouldn’t take too long. She would be back in Springtrap’s arms before sunrise. Vanny turned to her sewing machine with a yawn. 

She really needed to fix her sleep schedule…

* * *

Springtrap’s eyes fluttered open as sunlight shone in through the window. The robot let out a small groan and lifted his hand up to shield his eyes from the light. Even after being out of the darkness of Freddy’s for months, being woken up every morning by Vanny or the sunlight was otherworldly. He wondered sometimes if he hadn’t been hallucinating all of this.

Vanny reached up and wrapped her arms around him with a tired hum. His movements had woken her, and he could tell just by how reluctant she was to wake up that she had stayed up after they had gone to bed. He was well aware that she had been sneaking off in the dead of night, but he hadn’t brought it up. He could faintly hear her using her sewing machine in the living room whenever she accidentally woke him at night, and though the sound didn’t disturb him, Vanny’s lack of sleep did.

She wasn’t taking proper care of herself very well. He had to keep reminding her to eat, and she wasn’t sleeping much at all. Springtrap watched the woman beside him as she sucked in soft, gentle breaths. Her eyelids were shut, and she looked at peace. He wanted to get out of bed and start the day, but he didn’t dare wake his little doe. Unlike humans, robots didn’t actually  _ need _ sleep; he only slept so that Vanny would have someone to cuddle up to at night. He gently raised his clawed hand to rest behind Vanny’s head and held her for a while, just watching her sleep with a content gaze. He let Vanny sleep in, even though he knew she would scold him for it later. She always wanted to get an early start every morning, even if there was nowhere to be. 

Back when William was alive and had a job to go to, he would get up early in the morning so that he could spend time with Vanny before he had to drag himself out into public; smiling and greeting ex-parents who had unknowingly suffered a great loss at his hands. Nobody recognized him, though. He was far too different in appearance back then, and ‘Dave Miller’ was just a humble man who liked the simple things in life, even if he was a little odd at times.

Springtrap hadn’t set foot in town since he’d fallen victim to this suit, and he didn’t intend to ever do so. He was technically, legally, still someone else’s property. Vanny would no doubt be accused of theft, and it would end with the rabbit disemboweling someone to keep her out of being handcuffed. He had his doubts that Vanny wanted to hurriedly pack their things and move, especially considering they no longer had a car to drive. He had kept pushing for her to get a new one to save herself the bike rides into town, but she had refused. She had always been an annoying, stubborn little thing.

William loved her, though. She had taken his hand and committed atrocity after atrocity with him, after all. Nobody else had ever had the guts to do that with him.

Vanny eventually woke, and her tired green eyes met the monster’s in front of her.

She smiled softly and raised her hand up to hold the side of the rabbit’s cheek.

“ _ Good morning… _ ” Springtrap greeted her in a soft, low voice. Vanny smiled and pulled herself closer to him, snuggling into his fur that the sun had been so kind as to warm for her.

“Have any interesting dreams?” He asked as he shifted on the bed to hold her better.

“None that I can recall, no.” She replied with a tired yawn.

Springtrap let her cling to him for a while before making a move to get up. There were no protests from Vanny as he sat up and stretched his legs out. His black claws extended as he stretched, and Vanny briefly wondered how bad the wounds would be on someone if he got ahold of them in a position where kicking them would be easy. Vanny had been attacked by a neighbor’s cat as a kid. It had latched onto her arm and kicked with its back feet, clawing the hell out of her. Granted, Vanny had been a little too rough with poor little Molly unintentionally, considering she was a toddler. Molly had been fine, but Vanny had been traumatized. 

Vanny didn’t even know what death was back then. It was weird to her that such a time had ever existed. She watched as Springtrap’s claws vanished back into the fur that covered his toes.

He had noticed her staring but didn’t bother to question her. Vanny was a very observant woman; she would often space out and stare at things, lost in thought. He was used to it.

“What were you making last night?” He asked as he got out of bed. When he stood, he didn’t shake or struggle to keep his balance. Vanny blinked as she was pulled out of her thoughts.

“Mm?” She hummed with a confused shake of her head.

“Why were you up so late last night?” The rabbit questioned. Vanny stared at him for a long moment like a deer caught in the headlights.

“A vest.” She replied honestly. Springtrap cocked his head to the side with interest.

“For?” Vanny pulled herself out of bed and stood, walking past the robot without a second glance. “Myself.” She replied as he trudged down the hall. Springtrap trailed behind her, making his way to the kitchen at a much slower pace than Vanny kept. He watched her make her way over to the cabinets and open one up. A bag of raisin bagels were quickly snatched out and thrown carelessly up onto the counter. Bagels with cream cheese were one of Vanny’s favorite breakfast foods… That and waffles.

Springtrap sat down at the table. He barely even noticed the way the chair protested and groaned under him anymore. As long as he didn’t move around too much, he was confident that it would hold him. He looked over at the spring lock suit that was sitting beside him. It grinned at him with its horrifying, toothless smile. He hadn’t bothered to add teeth to the thing; Vanny wanted to add them whenever she gave the trap its outer layer.

“Do you think that Snare here wants something to eat?” He asked Vanny with an amused chuckle. Vanny turned back to look at him, halting the smearing of her cream cheese across the bagel in her hands. 

“Snare?” She questioned with a puzzled look on her face.

“Yeah, he’s going to be a trap for that Dunn pig.” He explained with a pleased hum.

Vanny eyed him, then the suit, then turned back to her bagel. _ Snare… _

“What’s with you giving every one of these death suits a dark name?”

Springtrap let out a small scoff and shifted in his chair; even though Vanny’s back was turned, she knew he was moving because of the way the wooden chair was creaking.

“Fine, then you name it.” He shot back. Even though the rabbit wasn’t actually mad at her, the tone in his voice let Vanny know that he was a little unhappy.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” Vanny hummed as she turned around to face him.

The woman leaned against the counter as she took a bite of her bagel.

“Snare has a nice ring to it.” She admitted with a soft smile. Springtrap’s ear perked up slightly. He was a little taken back that she actually felt that way, but he could tell that she wasn’t lying. 

“Who are we using it on after Dunn?” The golden rabbit asked with a wide, toothy grin.

Vanny paused. She didn’t have an answer to that, but the thought of cleaning up human remains out of the suit made her lose interest in her bagel. 

“Who do you want to use it on?” She asked as she abandoned the half-eaten mess of cream cheese on the kitchen counter. Springtrap was silent for a long moment, then spoke.

“Clay.” He laughed darkly. Vanny hesitantly nodded, then turned back to start making her coffee.

It seemed that Snare would be of great use to both of them…

“Could you help me move… Snare into the shed after I eat?” She requested.

Springtrap turned his head to stare at the suit for a second. While he could easily carry it to the shed, he had expected her to want to finish it inside of the comfort of the house.

“I don’t want to use it inside,” Vanny began to explain as she pulled her favorite mug from the cabinets. Springtrap nodded and stood with a small exhale.

“Cleaning blood off the concrete in the shed will be a whole hell of a lot easier than the floors in here.” She finished with a tired yawn. Springtrap towered over the suit and glared down at it with an unreadable expression.

He was going to enjoy watching someone else fall victim to his horribly flawed design.

It had been unfortunate when some of his employees had died inside of his creations, but this time, it was planned. This suit was  _ made _ to kill, and William was proud of Vanny for thinking of such a horrible way to punish those that had hurt her.

“You don’t want to give this place a little color?” He asked her with a simper.

Vanny glanced over her shoulder and shot him a dirty look.

“I’ll pass.”

* * *

The suit had been tightly locked in the shed after breakfast, and Vanny had elected to take a day off. She had insisted on doing something fun, but when they were limited to the confines of their yard and the house, there wasn’t too much to do. Sure, they could slip into the woods at that incircled their yard, but there wasn’t much to  _ actually _ do inside of it.

Springtrap had been on the verge of suggesting that they lure a child into their grasp, but having a child vanish right before an officer would have raised more red flags than they needed.

“What would you do for fun?” Vanny asked from where she was sitting on the living room floor.

Springtrap was sprawled out on the couch, gazing up at the ceiling as his legs hung over the arm of the couch. He was swinging them back and forth lazily; attempting and failing to keep himself entertained. The rabbit turned and looked over at Vanny.

“Not much, really. Watching the mold spread was my favorite pastime.”

Vanny rolled her eyes and laid down onto her side to look at him better.

“No, really. Surely there was  _ something _ you did to pass the time?”

“Sleep.” Springtrap huffed. “ _ She _ typically only came after me if I was being particularly loud.”

Vanny didn’t need to ask who  _ ‘she’ _ was. They had discussed that horrifying doll enough that Vanny knew who Will was referring to when he simply said  _ ‘she’. _

“So I slept as much as I could.” He explained with a bored look on his face.

“Once they opened up that safe room, she had complete access to harass me physically. Somehow, she had abilities that the others didn’t.”

Vanny listened in silence; enthralled and sucked into William’s little story.   
“By the time you got there, Puppet was the only physical one left besides me. Those other kids were just clinging to the only two forms they had known. They could shift between looking like their old mechanical prisons or a late stage of their little corpses.”

“So they weren’t real…” Vanny quietly said to herself. She knew that he had told her exactly that on the night she had come to free him, but hearing it again was somewhat of a comfort.

“They were, but they weren’t.” Springtrap corrected her. Vanny did her best to hide her confusion as she rolled over onto her stomach. It wasn’t even dinner time yet, and she was exhausted. Laying around and doing nothing probably wasn’t helping her stay awake, honestly.

Vanny didn’t bother to turn look at Will as she drowsily spoke. “The fox grabbed me, though.” 

“Mangle?” Springtrap asked, to which Vanny gave a sleepy nod.

“I don’t know exactly how much the others could do, but the Puppet was the only one who could physically hurt me. The others could touch you, but nothing too serious from what I ever experienced.” If the phantoms had been able to hurt him, he was certain they would have torn him to shreds while dragging him into that inferno.

Vanny looked over at Will with a sympathetic expression. “She hurt you?”

A sudden, harsh laugh filled the small space, and it was the same creepy robotic one that Vanny had now grown used to. She quietly wondered if he had any control over how mechanical his voice came out at times. “How do you think I lost this ear?” He questioned as he wiggled the half-missing stump as if to prove his point. Vanny gave him a sympathetic glance, then pushed herself up to sit.

“Can you still feel pain in that suit?” She asked with a soft, tender gaze.

“To a degree,” he hummed. “On my fur? No. The actual mechanical parts seem to be a different story, though.” Vanny nodded slowly and averted her gaze.

“Speaking of fur,” Springtrap muttered as he shifted around on the couch; searching for a new comfortable position. “You’re sure you don’t want any more help with making that deathtrap’s costume?” Without hesitation, Vanny shook her head no. 

“I can handle it.” She assured him. “I think it would be better if you see it all at once, anyway.”

Springtrap nodded in understanding. He used to get very nervous when people watched him work on his robotics, so he understood where Vanny was coming from. He just hoped she wouldn’t spend too much time in the shed; it wasn’t heated, and he was afraid she was going to get sick. Vanny stood slowly and stretched with a groggy grunt.

“Movie?” She asked with a content smirk. Springtrap nodded without hesitation.

* * *

Vanny woke up at around four in the morning that night. Her body ached from sleeping in such an odd position on top of Springtrap, but otherwise, she felt fine. The desire to snuggle up to Will was there, but the desire to sleep wasn’t. Her hands ran down the rabbit’s stitched up chest, then stopped at his abdomen. The night was calm and still; there wasn’t a single sound other than the faint chirping of crickets outside. Vanny sat in the darkness on top of the rabbit, watching as his chest rose and fell gently. Vanny stared down at him as a mixture of emotions filled her. William was right under her, content and peaceful. He was clean, fixed, safe, and loved…. So… why did she feel she was failing him?

She slowly ran her fingers across his soft fur. The feeling was a soothing comfort to her, and she found herself relaxing a little. Her throat still felt tight, though. She still felt an ache in her heart and the lingering anxiety over her own mortality creeping up on her. She brushed her cheek across the rabbit’s chest fur as she slowly removed herself from atop him. 

The floor was cold under her feet when she stood, but she ignored the way it made her shiver.

Her time needed to be spent preparing their trap; there was no point in sleeping when she wasn’t tired. Vanny wasn’t aware of it, but Springtrap had woken the moment she pulled away from him. One of his eyes were barely open, watching as she crept away towards the kitchen.

He knew that she was sneaking out to the shed to stay up all night, but he didn’t make a move to stop her. He had slipped away from her in the dead of night many years ago; the difference now was that he knew Vanny was coming back. He didn’t bother to stop her; he knew where she was going, and he knew she would be safe.

Vanny made her way through the kitchen, light on her feet just like she always was. 

The tiles of the kitchen floor were ice-cold; much colder than the wooden floor in the living room.

The night was cold and the air pouring in from the kitchen window was fresh; it smelled like rain and mud. The chill in the air had Vanny regretting leaving Springtrap’s warm, welcoming fur. She would return to him before the sun came up, though… She just needed a little time to work on  _ it _ , then she would go right back to sleep as if she had never left. Vanny slipped a baggy hoodie on that was hanging on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Her boots, which were caked in mud and grass, were sitting by the sliding glass doors. With a small intake of breath, Vanny peered out through the glass panes and into the dark, still yard.

Snare wasn’t going to build itself.

* * *

Vanny shifted and turned on the couch in a futile attempt to stay asleep.

Her stomach growled and ached, preventing her from staying asleep. Breakfast was calling her- or by now, it was most likely lunch. Springtrap had slipped off some time during the early morning, leaving Vanny securely tucked in a blanket before he departed. The lack of his big, fuzzy body against hers was the first thing she noticed upon drifting awake, and it was enough to terrify her. The woman shot up, stumbling off of the couch with shaky legs and a pounding heart. One quick glance into the kitchen told her exactly where her giant bunny had gotten to. The golden furball was lying on the back porch, curled into a ball and basking in the sun. Vanny sucked in deep, shaky breaths, attempting to calm herself enough to try and go back to sleep. As much as she would have liked to, clinging to William every moment of her life wouldn’t have been very appealing to him. He loved her, yes, but just like Vanny needed to finish the spring suit alone, William deserved time to himself as well. He had been deprived of sunlight for nearly a decade, so she would allow him to slip away early in the morning to enjoy the sunlight every morning if he wanted to. Vanny wasn’t going to say a word or stop him. She couldn’t have really stopped him even if she wanted to, anyway.

Her brown hair was a mess of frizzy, split ends and tangles. It stuck up in odd directions and was overdue for being washed. Vanny hesitantly began to lay back down on the couch after shooting one last glance to the animatronic out on the porch. She needed to make sure he was still there. Even though Vanny knew that he wouldn’t be leaving her again, the fear of him vanishing still lingered. With an exhausted huff, Vanny plopped back down onto the couch so that she was lying on her stomach. The lingering warmth on the surface of the cushions did little to soothe her back to sleep. She was tired, yet her body resisted sleep. Her heart was still thumping in her chest, and she knew that lying around trying to sleep would be completely and utterly pointless. Now was as good a time as any to start the day, she supposed. Vanny pulled herself back to her feet and wandered into the hallway towards the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would help her wake up a little more and calm down.

As soon as she set foot in the bathroom, a pain in her stomach reminded her that she had neglected to eat breakfast. Food could wait, though. Her clothes were carelessly discarded onto the floor and her bare skin was exposed to the chilly air. 

Vanny turned the shower on and stood outside of it for a moment, allowing the water to warm.

When the bathroom was steamy, she climbed inside and pulled the curtain shut. The water felt heavenly on her skin, and she found herself melting into the feeling. Time had lost all meaning in here, and she was simply enjoying the warm embrace of the water.

Vanny felt completely at peace with everything for a brief period of time; the outside world didn’t exist; it was simply her and the warm water that was washing away the dirt and grime that clung to her skin and hair. The sound of soft footsteps coming down the hall grabbed her attention, and she opened her eyes slowly. The shadow of a tall, floppy eared figure lingered on the other side of the shower curtain. Despite his best efforts, William simply couldn’t sneak around in this new body like he used to be able to in his old one. Being silent in a one hundred and fifty-pound human body was much easier than trying to keep quiet in a bulky, heavy machine. 

“Can I help you?” Vanny called out with a cheerful hum. An ear to ear smile was plastered to her face, and if Springtrap saw it, he would have melted. One of the rabbit’s paws raised up over the shower curtain, waving around a bottle of shampoo. “Do you need some help?” He chuckled lowly. Vanny peeked around the shower curtain to meet his gaze, clinging to the curtain with dripping hands.

“I don’t know, are you going to clog the fucking drain again?” She fired back with a glare.

Vanny was well aware that clogging the drain hadn’t been his intent and she had been the one to push for him taking a bath, but tormenting him over the ordeal was still entertaining.

“ _ Move _ ,” Springtrap growled as he pushed the curtain back to step inside of the shower.

“You’re unclogging the drain,” Vanny muttered under her breath as she stole the shampoo from his grasp.

* * *

Three days. That was all it took for her to complete the spring lock suit after the mechanics were out of the way. Vanny stared at the soft fur that hid the sharp insides of the future coffin.

It was silky and smooth, and as she ran her fingers across it, the feeling brought both a sense of dread and of relief. It was ready, but she wasn’t. The suit grinned at her, waiting for a victim to slip inside and meet their slow, agonizing death. William would be proud when he saw the final product; Vanny just knew it. The woman shifted her weight from foot to foot, staring at the work she had done. She felt proud, yet hesitant. While she had a pretty good feeling that William would like it, she wasn’t  _ completely _ certain. He had liked her old rabbit suit she had made before, so this shouldn’t be any different… Right? He would like whatever animal she had made this trap to be. It would be stained with blood at the end of the week anyway; Tomorrow night.

There was a distant roll of thunder that made Vanny’s stomach drop. The storms were supposed to pass them by that night, but she still felt a little anxious about how close they were. She loved the sound of thunder, yet today it only seemed to be worsening her anxiety.

It was only about noon, and she knew well enough that Springtrap was probably already up and lying out on the porch or nosing through something that he once wore when he was alive.

There was very little to do while he was cooped up in the house, so Vanny couldn’t say that pilfering through clothes that he previously fit into wasn’t more exciting than lying around and watching TV all day. Vanny sucked in a breath and lifted her chin up. She was going to remain confident, and she was going to make William proud. Both of her hand’s cupped the suit’s face, feeling along the fur. It was a beautiful suit, and Vanny felt a little more content with how the following day would play out. She took a few steps backward, eyeing it with a confident, melancholy smile.

  
  


Springtrap, just as she had suspected, was on the porch. He wasn’t relaxed and curled up, though. His legs dangled off the side of the old, wooden porch. The white paint was peeling, exposing the wood underneath. Thankfully, a treeline shielded any passerby from seeing the rabbit from the road. The entire yard was his to explore; nobody would see him, and nobody would ever disturb him again. The back porch was one of his favorite places to linger, it appeared. If he wasn’t on the couch or in bed, he was usually out on the porch. He refrained from sitting on any of the wicker furniture on the front porch, though; it would shatter under his weight. Big, fluffy ears perked up and wide, curious eyes locked onto Vanny as she slipped out of the shed. She carefully pulled the door shut, then began making her way through the yard towards the rabbit. He could easily tell by her smile and the bounce in her step that things were going well. She really could be too adorable for her own good sometimes.

“I take it your little sewing project is going well?” Springtrap inquired with a toothy grin.

Vanny nodded enthusiastically and clutched her hands together as she made her way up to the porch. She hopped up onto it and sat beside him effortlessly. There was no sign of the sun; the daylight had been blocked out by dark, grey rain clouds. 

“I’m nearly done…” She said with a gentle look in her eyes. Springtrap smiled and rubbed his thumb on her cheek in a brief show of affection.

“Good.” He purred. Butterflies fluttered in Vanny’s stomach at the praise, and she found herself scooting closer to the bigger being. She leaned against his shoulder as they both gazed out at the clouds. Despite her exhaustion, there was still a faint, ever-present excitement bubbling up inside of her. It made her want to bounce her leg and move; she needed to move around. 

Springtrap looked over at her with a raised brow; curious as to what had suddenly gotten her so excited. Was it just over the suit, or had something else overcome her?

“Dance with me.” She pleaded again with desperation in her eyes. She shuffled away from him and stood to her feet, ignoring the way the old boards squeaked under her feet. Springtrap blinked and stared at her hand as she extended it to him, then up to her face. She looked like she was waiting for him to say yes to a marriage proposal, yet William couldn’t find it in himself to give in to her request. He shook his head, declining her offer.

“I’m not in the mood, Vanny. You know I hate dancing.” He huffed.

Vanny pulled her hand away like she’d been burnt and her smile slowly faded.

“You’re a robot made to sing and dance, William. Dance with me.”

“I’m not my skin.” He grumbled with a distasteful flick of his half-missing ear.

“I’m serious, Vanny. Drop it. I’m not in the mood.” There was no real anger in his voice; only slight irritation. Vanny looked out across the yard, searching for something to distract herself. She wanted to go off on him and throw a tantrum as a toddler would. Vanny was above that, though. 

While she had certainly been less hesitant to torment and get angry at William after he had returned, she had never snapped at him. She had developed anger issues in the time she spent secluded from the world, but having William come back into her life only to deny her the simple things she had craved upset her. After spending years crying, it seemed that anger was taking root in its place. She still loved William, and she would always respect and care for him, but a part of her had grown bitter. It wasn’t like she was asking for him to kill somebody for her, which she knew he would be much more willing to do than share a simple dance with her.

Another roll of thunder pulled Vanny’s attention completely away from trying to convince the rabbit to dance with her, and she instead stormed into the kitchen. She didn’t have time for this. She was hungry.


	11. Dancing with his Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter <3

Tomorrow was the day that Snare would be put to good use. Springtrap hadn’t seen the final product just yet, but Vanny wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t need to see it until it was time to use it. Vanny had made it very clear that she wanted the reveal of the finished product to be a surprise, and who was William to deny her of that? 

Vanny knew full well what the look on his face would be when he finally saw it, but she didn’t know if she’d be  _ able  _ to see it. The plan was to head out in the morning to abduct Dunn, but Vanny was in no hurry to get to bed. It was late; around one in the morning, to be exact.

Springtrap was lazing around in the living room, watching some TV show that Vanny had absolutely no interest in. She was currently standing in the kitchen, shoving her face full of bagels and other junk food that she didn’t need. The anger from earlier had dissolved into sadness, and with it, she had sought out comfort in garbage food. Usually, she would have worried about the potential weight gain that this little binge would cause, but she didn’t this time around.

None of it mattered.  _ None of this mattered. _

The house was dark aside from the flickering from the TV, and Vanny felt horribly alone. Springtrap was right in the other room, and she could have gone to him for comfort, but she refused. She  _ wanted  _ to be alone, and she wanted to eat her feelings away.

But eventually, just like she always did, Vanny gave in to her feelings and crept back into the living room. She had wanted to curl up and snuggle with William, but when she peeked over the couch, she was met with the sight of an unconscious mess of fur.

Vanny smiled down at him fondly and walked silently around the couch. She lowered herself onto her knees in front of him and rested her cheek on his chest fur. 

With a shaky, unsteady intake of air, Vanny slowly ran her fingers across the fur. She sucked in shaky breaths; doing her best to keep from crying. She was out of time; tomorrow was the deadline. Her options were to take action now or lose her chance forever.

Vanny snuggled on top of that rabbit as tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn’t dare let out a single noise, though. Springtrap would have heard her and woken up. If he were to wake up at that moment, Vanny was well aware that she wouldn’t have the strength to look into his eyes and still go through with this. She was very hesitant as it was, and a more rational and logical side of her was screaming at her to back out. Vanny had already decided on this, though.

Her fate was sealed the moment that she had asked for William’s paw in making that thing.

After clinging to Springtrap for over half an hour, Vanny somehow found it in herself to pull away. Her fingers lingered on his fur for a just moment longer, and then she was gone; slipping into the kitchen without another glance back. She was already wanting to give in and snuggle up to the rabbit to go to sleep. It wasn’t time to sleep just yet, though. 

Vanny made her way out onto the porch, then through the yard with slow steps. She was in no hurry. Her boots were still sitting inside by the door, waiting to be slipped on to collect more mud or crush the heads of the people that crossed Vanny. 

She just wanted to feel the dew on her bare feet, though. It made her shiver, yet she smiled.

Vanny walked through the grass, dragging and kicking her feet as she went. She would miss the feeling of water on her bare skin and the way that the cold night air chilled her to the bone.

The moon was bright and full, and Vanny couldn’t keep her eyes off of it.

It made everything in the yard seemingly glow, and Vanny had a clear view of everything surrounding her. There was no reason that she should feel sad, she kept telling herself, but the way her heart ached and felt heavy told her otherwise.

Everything would change tonight. Nothing would ever be the same, but that was okay.

She was going to be okay.

One of her cold hands found its way to rest on her stomach. She felt along it softly, rubbing it with one of her thumbs in a slow, soothing motion. The T-shirt she was wearing separated her fingers from her bare skin, and she felt overwhelming emptiness. Ever since she was a child, wild fantasies about raising a son or daughter filled her mind, yet that day never came.

There was never a ring on her finger or a dress that she wore while walking down an aisle.

When she had met William, she had expected nothing of the sort from him.

Her life had turned out nothing like she had ever expected it to, and she was thankful for that.

She wouldn’t ever be a mother, but that was okay.  _ She was okay. _

William wouldn’t have wanted another child, anyway, she told herself. 

Mrs. Afton had filled that desire for him, so by the time Vanny came around, she was of no use. She felt a sudden, horrible sadness over the fact that she had never even brought up the notion of having children to William. She had  _ chosen  _ to stay silent, though. Vanny had been more than willing to keep her mouth shut and her desires to herself for fear of upsetting Will. 

Despite all they had been through together, Vanny now felt like something was missing. She wasn’t completely happy, yet she didn’t know how to fill the void. William had always been a source of comfort; whenever she was in his arms she felt complete and safe. She felt whole. Lately, though, she didn’t feel complete  _ or  _ safe. 

Springtrap was fully capable of protecting her, yes, but even he couldn’t protect her from mortality.  _ The thought of mortality tormented her. _

She was going to die, and the thought of not knowing when that time would come was horrifying. What if she died alone somewhere without William?

Meeting her end alone had always been one of the woman’s greatest fears, ever since she was a child. Vanny’s eyes drifted down to the grass under her feet. She watched the way that the dew glistened in the moonlight for a long moment before continuing on towards the shed.

There was no bounce in her step; there was no happiness to be seen on her face.

She was alone and she was petrified.

The shed door was pulled open slowly and Vanny stared inside at the suit.

A buck-toothed smile greeted her, grinning wide and showing off its many teeth. Big, red eyes stared her down with a blank expression and its small white pupils gazed off in odd directions at nothing in particular. Its white and brown fur glistened in the moonlight that was now pouring into the shed from the open door.

Vanny hesitated for a while, lingering at the door with one foot still outside. She eventually continued forward, and as her wet feet touched the cold concrete floor of the shed, she shivered. Floppy, pointed ears hung limp, and the suit was slouched over in silence. 

Vanny eyed the rabbit in front of her as another ache filled her heart.

The glistening of a pink and purple vest nearby grabbed her attention, and with a small intake of breath, Vanny walked past the suit and over to the shelf where the vest had been placed.

_ The vest for her. _

It was beautiful, but it was currently much too big for her to fit into.

Purple hearts were spread across the light pink of the fabric, and the entire thing sparkled. Vanny had always enjoyed shiny things.

The vest extended down into a cape in the back, reaching a little past the brown heart-shaped fur on its knees. The underside of it was a dark purple, which faintly glimmered as well. The sight of the cape made Vanny smile weakly, and she took it into her hands before turning back around to the rabbit. The suit was motionless and cooperative as she slid the vest onto it. She watched as it glistened in the natural light from the moon with pride. Once it was on the rabbit, Vanny took a slow step back to stare at the deathtrap before her. The sound of humming crickets filled the air, but otherwise, the night was  _ dead silent. _

Vanny stared at the suit in front of her, and  _ it  _ smiled at her, silently assuring her that everything would be okay. The woman leaned forward and stroked its cheek before placing that same hand on her own cheek. Her skin was warm and soft, and she was trading it for cold, smooth fur. 

Green eyes would never again stare at William, and he’d be met by burning red and white in their place. Vanny hesitantly slipped the suit’s head off and stared in at the spring locks that had already been pulled to the side for her; the same locks that were going to help her finally get some rest.

This was for William, she reminded herself.  _ This was okay. _

This was the only way that she could stay with him. This was the only way that she could cheat death; by running directly to it. Vanny glanced down at the rabbit mask in her hands. It was the same one she had worn for years, only now it had been modified to kill her.

With a deep breath, Vanny leaned down and pressed her forehead against her mask’s.

The fur was soft, and it was freezing. Springtrap would never again feel the warmth of her skin or see the way that she bit her bottom lip while working on something. Wouldn’t it be worth it to be able to have her by his side for eternity, though? It would just be the two of them forever, committing horrible atrocities and cheating death. The key to immortality was becoming a monster, it seemed, but that was fine. Vanny had already become a monster long ago.

Immortality was what Vanny was desperately trying to achieve, but whether or not this would actually work was yet to be seen. Even William wasn’t sure exactly _ why _ he had been able to cling to his suit after death. The theory that he had thrown around about it being due to how traumatic dying inside a spring lock suit had been was all Vanny needed to go through with this. If there was even a mild chance that dying in such a gruesome way would be her ticket to spending the rest of forever with William, she was going to take it.

Doing it any other way simply wouldn’t cut it, she feared. It  _ had _ to be inside of this suit.

She was going to die inside of a deathtrap that she had manipulated William into making.

Vanny had lied to his face from the beginning. She had never intended this suit being used on anyone other than herself; that was why picturing anyone else inside of it felt so disgustingly wrong. Guilt now mixed with her overwhelming sadness. She had deceived Will without much of a second thought. What was done was done, though. Her coffin sat in front of her, eagerly awaiting holding her forever. 

It had to be done tonight. Not only was tomorrow the day that they were supposed to kidnap Dunn and shove him into the suit, but Vanny knew if William saw the white and brown rabbit, everything would click into place. He would figure her out, and her chance would be lost forever. William had never been against murder, but letting someone he cared about die wasn’t something he would let happen. Vanny sucked in one final breath of the fresh air before climbing inside of the suit. She was very careful not to nudge against the metal bits too much. If she were to set them off before she was completely inside… Well... she could only imagine the terrible ways she could butcher this. Being left alive but maimed was definitely a risk, but she was a little more concerned about losing her ticket to being an undead abomination.

Vanny hesitated before sliding all the way into the suit. She ran her fingers across the smooth, perfect skin on her arms. If she were in a position where surviving this was possible, she could only imagine her skin being littered with horrible, deep scars just like William had once sported.

The thought of William made her smile, and she slipped the rest of her body inside the suit. 

Vanny wasted no time and slipped her head on. She looked down at the paws that would soon, hopefully, be her new hands. Purple claws peeked out of the fur; sharp and shiny weapons for her to hopefully use in the future. 

This was for William. She was just going to go to sleep for a while, and then she’d wake up feeling much better. She would feel complete, and William would welcome her with open arms.

There was only one thing left to do, but whether she had the strength to do it or not, she wasn’t sure. It had to be done, though. One way or another, Vanny was dying tonight.

Her gaze drifted away from the suit’s paws and over to a bucket that she had placed on the work table where she had spent the last several days modifying what was now the body of the spring lock suit. The bucket itself was made of thin metal, and it had been filled to the brim with water. Vanny carefully walked over to the bucket with slow, precise steps. Even though causing a spring lock failure was her intent, she still found herself treading lightly on her feet; fearful of setting the locks off too early. Vanny stared at the water, then gently tapped the side of the bucket to watch the way it rippled. She remembered a simpler time when she would throw rocks into the creek near her childhood home with her cousins. She had no idea where they were now or how they were doing. They wanted nothing to do with her, though, so she couldn’t be bothered to care too much. She had been shunned by her family long ago; what they thought of her didn’t matter.

William loved her; he protected her and actually helped her up when she fell down.

Her family hadn’t even batted an eye when she was struggling. Vanny knew who mattered more to her, and it definitely wasn’t her blood. Vanny reached out and slowly grabbed onto the handles on the side of the bucket. It was a rather large bucket; It reminded Vanny of the kind she saw people bobbing for apples in at Halloween parties. It wasn’t too big or too small, and it contained just enough water that she could both lift it  _ and _ get the job done. She raised it up with a bit of a struggle and her arms trembled. Vanny stared down at the water in front of her. This was for William.

_ This was okay. _

  
  
  


It took some effort, but Vanny managed to lift the bucket over her head. She sucked in a deep breath, then flipped it upside down. Vanny dropped the bucket onto the ground with a clang and stiffened when she felt the water soak through the suit and onto her skin. There was a snap, and then a horrible, searing pain overcame her entire body.

It felt like being stabbed everywhere all at once with sharp knives. Blood splattered onto the concrete around her as the spring locks did just as they were created to do. They snapped out of place and were sent directly into Vanny’s body. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her hands came up to hold at her throat through the suit out of instinct, but Vanny knew exactly what had happened. Her vocal cords had been severed.

Tears spilled down Vanny’s face, though she couldn't tell what was blood and what wasn’t anymore. Her legs gave out, and she smacked against the concrete floor as she fell over. The fall caused more springs to snap, and Vanny kicked and writhed on the floor as they impaled her. She was gasping and struggling to breathe, but barely any air was making it into her lungs. Blood was running down her throat, and it was making her choke and gasp more in panic, which in turn caused her to suck in more blood. Another serious of loud snaps sent more locks into her flesh, and everything went dark. Vanny gasped and trembled as her head throbbed.  _ Something had pierced through her eyes.  _ Everything seemed so distant and far too close at the same time. Her head was swimming and her heart was pounding. The chirping of the night time bugs outside of the shed was deafening, and she could hear her own blood dripping out into the puddles that had formed underneath her. Her throat felt horribly tight, yet she still fought to breathe despite wanting to die. Seconds felt like minutes, and Vanny was in hell.

Springtrap’s ears perked up. His nose scrunched up, and he took in a deep breath.

He smelled something… familiar. The rabbit quickly pushed himself up to sit on the couch, and he looked around the empty living room. He tipped his head back and smelled the air.

It was blood. The smell was pouring in from outside. Inside the kitchen, the window above the sink had been left open to allow fresh air inside. The faint breeze was carrying the intoxicating scent directly to the beast inside. Springtrap stood to his feet and crept into the kitchen. Was there an injured animal outside? Curiosity pushed the rabbit forward, and he slid out onto the porch, making sure to quietly close the door behind him. If there was something injured, he didn’t want to scare it off. Dew collected on his big, fuzzy feet as he walked through the grass, following the scent. It only took him a moment to realize that the source of the smell was directly in front of him….. The shed.

Springtrap’s ears flattened and his heart- or whatever was currently the equivalent, sunk.

As fast as he possibly could, Springtrap bolted across the yard. He nearly lost his traction several times as his feet slid across the wet grass, but he made it to the open door without falling. His claws sunk into the old wooden door as he peered around and inside. There, on the floor, lay a familiar sight. A beautiful white and brown rabbit, only this time, the sight brought him only terror. There was blood  _ everywhere _ . Vanny was barely moving, now. Only her fingers gripped and clawed at the floor under her. Then, it all clicked.

The suit wasn’t for Dunn, and it never had been. He had built the suit for her.

Springtrap stumbled inside and fell to his knees in front of his world.

The only thing he cared about was now lying in front of him, clinging to her last moments of life. She was dying at the hands of something he had made, just like his son and daughter had before her. William leaned over Vanny and pulled her close to him, cradling her against his chest as he took her into his arms. His fur would be stained with her blood, but he didn’t care.

She had worked so hard to clean him, and he was ruining that, too. 

He ruined everything he touched.

“ _ V-Vanny. _ ” He croaked out.

William held her in his arms as he shook like a leaf. He couldn’t lose her, but he knew that there was no surviving  _ this _ . He had gotten lucky, but Vanny had gone into this with the full intention of killing herself. He wasn’t an idiot; he had just been too blind to put the pieces together before now. William gently held her cheek and stared into those artificial, burning red eyes.

“ _ Vanessa, _ ” He hissed out in a shaky voice. “ _ I- God, I.. _ ”

Words meant nothing to Vanny. They didn’t make sense to her anymore, but she knew that she should have known what they meant. She couldn’t see a thing, but she could hear a voice. She could feel herself being moved. The voice was William’s. She wasn’t alone.

For a moment, she couldn’t grasp onto anything. Vanny had no idea where she was or what was going on, but she was well aware that she was dying. William was here, though.

William was right by her, and she wasn’t going to die alone. Vanny relaxed, and with a small twitch, she stopped struggling. The woman went limp in William’s arms before she could hear his broken pleas and repeated sobs of, “ _ I love you, _ ”.

  
  
  


William sat in the shed, clutching Vanny against his chest in silence.

She was completely silent and still, and he knew that she was gone.

He couldn’t physically cry in this body, but he felt as if he was. Every part of him hurt and his very being ached. He felt like he had died all over again, and he was holding the last thing that had ever mattered in his arms. He sat there for a while, just as quiet as Vanny. The shed reeked of blood and bile, and he despised the smell. This all felt like some kind of horrible nightmare, but William knew that it was real. Vanny was dead, and he was the cause. She had killed herself and it was entirely his fault. He had built this suit for her, and he had filled her head with promises of immortality that were never meant for her. There was no way of knowing if her soul would even linger like his had. William had no definite explanation as to why he hadn’t simply ceased to exist or go to the place that he feared Vanny may now reside.

If she was truly gone, the deepest pits of hell would be welcoming her.

William didn’t know what to expect after death; was it simply a void of nothing, or was the damnation that he feared real? He was petrified of the idea of simply ceasing to exist, but now he was hoping that there really was nothing after this world. Vanny didn’t deserve that; not in his eyes. 

There was complete silence in the shed as William cradled Vanny’s cold body against his own. Hours had passed, and there hadn’t been a single movement from her.

He hadn’t moved an inch since she had stilled; he had simply sat with his back against the wall, cradling her against him. He was in shock; he couldn’t properly think or react to any of this.

He  _ was completely aware _ that Vanny was dead, but none of it felt real.

William had no idea how long he had actually been sitting there, but he didn’t care.

He was going to sit here, and he was going to wait until Vanny woke up.

The lovely white fur of Vanny’s suit had been stained with her blood, and the pretty, pink glistening vest had absorbed a decent amount of it as well. William was prepared to clean her, though, whether she woke up or not. She was going to be spotless of blood.

Eventually, he began to softly stroke the top of her head. The blood that had poured out from her eyes, nose, and mouth had already begun to dry, but he was in no hurry to rush inside and clean her. She needed to wake up… for him.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, you know…” He muttered to the dead. Vanny was silent as she waited for him to continue; never interrupting like the proper lady she was.

“I was so scared I’d spend eternity there,” He continued as his claws slowly trailed down to stroke across her cheeks. “I was alone, even though I wasn’t the only unfortunate fucker to still be kicking.” William shifted a little so that he could better gaze into those lifeless, dull eyes.

“Part of me wanted to believe that you were happy and living with someone new, but that also made me upset.” The golden rabbit pulled Vanny’s body closer to him so that he could affectionately nuzzle his muzzle against her smaller, bloody one. “I never wanted anyone else to touch you, Vanessa. Because you’re mine…” The bigger rabbit began to tremble, and he shook like a scared child as he held onto Vanny a little tighter. He was well aware that she couldn’t hear him, but he continued speaking nonetheless. 

“But you could have left me there. You could have forgotten about me and moved on… but you didn’t.” William stared down at the body in his arms. How many times had he been in this position; clinging to a loved one while they died because of him?

Vanny wasn’t the first, but she would definitely be the last. There was no one else for him to lose. Elizabeth died at the hands of a mistake that he had made, and his youngest son had been crushed in the jaws of one of his first creations. Micheal was long gone; William didn’t know where he was, but he hoped that his only remaining child was doing well.

After losing both of his siblings to his father’s playthings, Micheal had wanted nothing to do with his father. William didn’t blame him or stop him from leaving.

His wife, whom he had loved until the end, was taken by a horrible sickness.

That was the only death that had ever been out of his control.

Vanny, the newest victim of William’s craft, was the only one who had willingly given themselves up to die. William had made this suit for her, and even though he hadn’t made it  _ for  _ her, she was still dead because of him. He cradled the woman in his arms as he shivered; silently pleading with whatever was out there to let her return to him. She needed to wake up, and he needed to show her how much she meant to him. She had never asked much of him, and William hadn’t given her the affection she deserved. Vanny had longed for a final dance with him so bad, and William now knew why she had been so hellbent on receiving said dance.

She wasn’t sure if she would ever get one again.

“I’m sorry, Vanessa.” He sobbed out, though his robotic body prevented tears from sliding down his now bloody face. Vanny didn’t reply; she didn’t even stir. William was coming to fear that she never would. As carefully as he could, William gently began petting Vanny’s bloody cheeks.

It felt so wrong to be feeling fur instead of skin. Now he knew how she had felt upon finding him.

Vanny had never sought out another lover. She had never stopped looking for him, and she had never given hope that somehow, he was out there. William had repaid her with a slow, painful death. Would it be a pointless one?

Even though Vanny hadn’t been anywhere close to expiring of age, thoughts of losing her one day had plagued him. He had never voiced these concerns to her, but now it was obvious that she had been tormented by those same fears. Mortality was the enemy of every living creature, only William had found a way to cheat it. As long as his mechanical body remained, so would he.

Vanny had traded away her humanity in an attempt to stay with him forever, yet he wasn’t happy with her decision. How could he be happy when he had just held yet another woman he loved in his arms as she died? William had loved his wife, but he had come to love Vanny more, as wrong as it felt to admit it. Vanny was his world, and if she didn’t wake up…

Springtrap twitched as he fought the urge to stand and walk out of that shed with Vanny in his arms. If that bastard cop hadn’t harassed Vanny, she wouldn’t have had a decent lie to feed him as an excuse for the creation of the suit. If she didn’t wake up, and if she really was gone for good… He was going to burn Hurricane to the fucking ground.

That town had hated him, and it had shunned Vanny when she needed comfort the most.

Fuck Hurricane. Fuck Clay. Fuck Dunn. Fuck Hen-

William began shaking again as sadness overcame his hate.

_ He didn’t hate Henry, but Henry hated him. _

How was it so easy to ruin anything good in his life?

Something caught his attention, and William’s gaze shifted down to stare at the rabbit in his arms. She was limp and motionless. Her eyes were still wide open as she stared at nothing.

William was completely quiet and still, watching her for a long moment. Another movement made him tense up. Her pupils moved ever so slightly to the side. 

“Vanny-” He hissed out in a low, hopeful tone.

The white pupils drifted over to stare up at him. Her face was still stuck in a smile, but it was clear that she was conscious. With no hesitation, she was quickly pulled up against his chest in a bone-crushing hug. He nuzzled into her bloody neck, and he began to shake once again.

“ _ Vanny- Vanny I… _ ”

The white and brown rabbit slowly moved her arms up and weakly wrapped them around the bigger robot in front of her. Her movements were sluggish and stiff. 

William knew that she hadn’t fully realized how to operate this body yet, but she was alive… or… undead, rather. 

“Will…” She whispered weakly. It sounded like she was tired. Having been through the exact same thing, William was aware that waking up inside of one of these things was horribly confusing and disorienting. It would take Vanny time to learn how to properly stay balanced and wiggle her ears and tail, but he was going to be there to help her every step of the way.

He was never leaving her again, and she was never leaving him.

“I’m here, Bunny. I’m here.” William assured her in a soft, low voice.

Vanny was tired, and her body ached. It took her a moment to realize where she was and  _ what _ she now was, but when it clicked, she clung to William even tighter. Her senses were heightened, and she was very aware of the blood coating her body… her new body.

She had done it….  _ They _ had done it.

“I’m sorry,” Vanny managed to weakly whisper out. The larger rabbit shook his head and simply nuzzled into her neck with a small, weak whine.

“ _ I thought you were gone. _ ” He admitted in an unstable, shaky voice.

Vanny tiredly closed her new eyes and leaned against the rabbit.

Her smile had fallen, and she was too weak to process much of how her new body felt.

It was certainly different, but she had been expecting that. 

With a small whine, Vanny gently dug her claws into William’s back. She didn’t have much energy to speak, but she was here… William was holding her, and that was enough to keep her calm and content with her decision. Vanny’s eyes fluttered open as William began to stand up. He still clutching onto her so that she wouldn’t fall, and even though she was much heavier now in this robotic body, he still moved her with ease.

“Will?” 

The golden rabbit didn’t offer her a reply and instead began to carefully lower her down to her feet. Vanny’s eyes widened in panic and she grasped at his shoulders and back; desperately trying to cling to him. Her entire body felt like jelly, and she couldn’t even feel her lower half yet.

Her arms were weak and tingly as it was; there was no way that she would be standing on her own for quite a while.

“Will! Will, I can’t-”

“I’ve got you, sweetheart. I’m not letting go.” He cooed softly. Vanny tensed as her feet touched down on the cold concrete. She didn’t dare look down at the pools of blood she knew for certain were still there. Her purple claws sunk into the fur on his back slightly; not enough to penetrate through him, but tight enough to latch onto him.

With a small sideways step, William began to slowly slip out of the shed. Vanny trembled as he held onto her; it reminded her of how shaky and tense she was when she had attempted to roller skate when she was a child. She couldn’t walk or run at the moment; she was completely defenseless, but William was no threat to her. 

“W-What are we doing?” Vanny asked softly. William gave her a pleased hum as they made their way out into the yard. The moon was still in the sky, but the night was growing old.

The sun was threatening to rise, and purple hues filled the horizon.

“We’re dancing.” William hummed with a soft look in his eyes, even though Vanny couldn’t see it from how she was clinging to him. There was a new sensation that Vanny felt upon hearing those words, and it took her a moment to realize that it was an involuntary movement.

Her tail was wagging, slowly but surely. Vanny relaxed a little as William loosened his grip on her just a little more. He wasn’t going to drop her, but he was encouraging her to try and stand on her own two feet. Vanny pulled away from his shoulder where she was nuzzled to shake her head and gaze into his eyes with a sympathetic look 

“I thought you-” Before she could finish, he cut her off. 

“I’m an idiot,” He growled out. Despite his unstable emotions, it sounded just like William; there wasn’t a hint of robotic distortion in his voice. He stared back into her searing red eyes with a small wince.

“I’m sorry It took  _ this  _ for me to give in.” He apologized with a shameful lowering of his ear.

“You’re a stubborn asshole, you know…” Vanny muttered half-heartedly.

“I’m aware.” With a quick movement, William pulled Vanny against his chest and moved further into the yard. Vanny lowered her head to rest against his chest as they swayed through the wet grass without a care in the world.

The two swayed and danced in the calm twilight, clinging to each other in silence.

It didn’t take long before Vanny had gained some semblance of control over her legs, and William didn’t have to hold her up quite as much. When she began to lose her balance, William was there to catch her. He would always be there to catch her.

Despite the fact that she had lied to him, he forgave her. She had given up her humanity to be with him forever, and he would never be put through losing someone he cared about ever again.

As the sky brightened, their movements became more and more akin to actual dancing rather than simple swaying and dragging of limp feet. Vanny was taking steps on her own, and even though she was clinging to William the entire time, she was in heaven.

The rabbits moved and twirled through the yard as the sunlight began to peek over the treeline. 

Birds had begun to sing, and the crickets were falling silent.

William leaned down so that their noses touched, and he nuzzled her with a loud purr.

Vanny’s arms wrapped around his neck, and both of their tails wagged in unison like excited puppies. Vanny lifted her floppy ears up and gazed into those beautiful eyes in front of her. The sunlight made his fur glow, and Vanny noticed her own blood that had stained that same fur that she had worked so hard to scrub clean. She gave him a soft smile and caressed his cheek with one of her paws. The bigger rabbit leaned into the touch affectionately and rubbed his cheek against her palm. Vanny let out a pleased hum and leaned forward to press her forehead against his own. The smaller rabbit wore a gentle smile as she spoke.

“You need another bath.” 

William let out a low chuckle as he leaned into her touch just a little more.

“And so do you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking around and reading this. It's been a fun, wild ride! I may do a few occasional one-shots or 'what ifs' of this story in the future. We'll see... ;3  
> Feedback is always appreciated and is encouraging!  
> Thank you for reading!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [How Bunnies Play](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096590) by [Sinful_Sprinklez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinful_Sprinklez/pseuds/Sinful_Sprinklez)




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